


Re:A Spatial Tear

by Twilight_PhoenixFyre



Series: Before the Guardians [2]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: And the originals who are supposed to be dead..., Everything hidden in the background came charging forward, F/M, I will add stuff as I go because massive story is massive, Ligers, Non-Canon magic system (which manages to be canon-compliant-ish), Politics, RIP Ion's Innocence, So many replicas..., Yes I'm putting their different names in the relationship tags, semi-self-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-10-20 05:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 88
Words: 226,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17616665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight_PhoenixFyre/pseuds/Twilight_PhoenixFyre
Summary: Kairi Balfour is dead. Or, at least, that's what Zion and Van want everyone to believe. She's done a pretty good job of screwing everything up, too, considering the number of people who are alive who really probably shouldn't be.But now that the game events have rolled around, how much of what she knows can she rely on? Her actions have consequences, some of them quite major, and there are forces moving beyond her control. There's no single path to follow anymore, no clear plotline to keep to. But standing back and letting everything come crashing down around her isn't an option.“Kairi?”“I don’t know why I keep wondering how we end up in these situations. I think... part of me still thinks this is Tales of the Abyss... still thinks this is just a game... And then someone gets hurt, someonedies...”“We’ve made it this far. Don’t go breaking on me now when I need you the most.”





	1. Chapter 1.1 - A (False) Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, the quotes there are from Book 3. Same chapter as the quotes I used for Re:ARitA, actually.
> 
>  
> 
> Here goes Book 2~ Enjoy!

_"If they're the Dark Wings, I'm a cheagle." -Dark_

__'No, we're from the Land of Milk and Cookies. Of course we're Kimlascan!' _-Dark_

* * *

**Dark's POV**

"To Engeve, huh? You realize that'll be seven thousand Gald, right?"

I resisted the urge to cringe. Five months ago, I would have. Actually, I wouldn't have even bothered talking to the man five months ago. If I couldn't get there by walking, I'd have ridden on Koran or taken a ferry. But that had been before everything started. Before I met Kairi, before I was almost killed by Mohs, before I became Natalia's bodyguard.

I hadn't had the money to burn, before. It had always been the same thing: take an assignment, disappear for as long as I could on the money earned, and then take another when I started to run low on funds. There was no space for waste.

But Natalia paid me well, to follow her around all day. And it wasn't as if I had to pay for food or rent or anything. Food was provided by the castle servants, and rent? Ha! My door was only a few yards from Natalia's. It was in the job description. So, I had more money than I knew what to do with. Taking a coach to Engeve instead of walking? Why not?

"Whatever," I told the coachman, already counting out the gald for payment. He watched me closely, obviously double-checking my counting, even though I knew it was infallible. I'd had to count my pay rather carefully in my previous line of work, or I'd be shortchanged easily.

"Alright. One ticket to Engeve. You ready to go?" the coachman asked, pocketing the money. I nodded, slipping my only slightly lighter bag of gald back into my own pocket. The man opened the door of the coach for me to get in, and I settled in quietly, relaxing against one side. It had been a long few weeks, and I was just now starting to get calmed down after everything that had happened.

First, Kairi's death. The stranger had shown up first, giving us his riddling comments, and then Van had delivered the news. An accident, he said. Murder, according to the stranger. Natalia and I agreed with the latter.

Then, Koran's death. It wasn't exactly sudden, but I hadn't expected it either. There was nothing I could do, in the end. It had been a hard blow, though. Koran had been my friend, my companion, my brother through the eight years I spent with no one else to really care for me. Rhunön and Ryndor didn't count. They taught me to fight, to survive, but they didn't care enough to rein in Danté when he decided that killing me would be the best way to go.

I was just starting to fall asleep when we hit the bump. My head was knocked against the window frame, and I cringed, shaking myself awake for a moment to make sure everything was alright, since we were coming to a stop.

"Bugger..."

I frowned and stuck my head out of the window, spotting the coachman near the back of the coach, looking around. "Need help?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Looks like the water jug fell off," he said. "I've got a spare, but it's empty. We'll have to find some fresh water..."

I looked around, then pulled my head back and stepped out of the coach. "We're near Tataroo Valley, right?" I asked. "There's a river running through there."

The coachman looked at me and smiled. "Really? Thanks. I'll go get some," he said, already pulling the spare jug out. I frowned, hearing a wolf howl not far off.

"I'll come with you, just in case. It doesn't look like you're armed," I said. The coachman looked over me again, then nodded.

"Thanks again, lad." He turned and headed toward the entrance to the valley, and I followed along quietly.

'Just like with Natalia...' I thought. 'Except with a lot less chatter and a lot higher chance of something happening.'

"There's the way out!" I heard a woman say. I paused, but the coachman seemed to have not heard it.

"It's about time. I'm sick of this place."

My eyes widened. There was no way...

"Someone's coming!"

I ran after the coachman in time to hear him cry out in surprise. "D-don't tell me you're with the Dark Wings!"

I rolled my eyes. "If they're with the Dark Wings, I'm a cheagle," I called, sarcasm dripping from every word. Sure enough, standing across the way from the coachman were two people, one whom I recognized quite well. "By the way, Luke... You and I are going to be having a long talk once we get to Engeve."

Emerald green eyes widened in shock and familiarity the minute I stepped out of the shade cast by a tree. "Dark!"

The woman frowned slightly, but the coachman didn't notice, his attention locked solely on me. "You know them?" he asked. I glanced at the girl again, noting her similarity to a certain Dorian General I was seeing an awful lot more than I would have preferred.

"Luke is my cousin," I lied. "And that's his best friend's sister." The girl blinked a couple of times, glanced at Luke, who had frowned but was now trying to cover it up, and then looked back at me, seeming to realize that she could trust me.

"I see... I'll go get the water, then," the coachman said, walking past the duo. I crossed my arms and stared at the girl.

"Name, now," I said quietly.

"Tear," she replied simply. "And you are?"

"Dark Daemione. Luke's bodyguard."

Luke rolled his eyes. "He's Natalia's bodyguard, not mine," he corrected me. So, this girl knew Luke's status.

"Regardless, you're obviously not out here by plan, and Natalia would skin me alive if she found out I let you get hurt. You're coming with me to Engeve," I told him. Tear frowned.

"I told him I'd take him back to his manor," she said. I sighed.

"Then you can come with us, if you want. I don't really care. I just want to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt." Tear hesitated a moment before nodding.

The coachman came back then, and I reached into my pocket for my gald. "Excuse me, sir? We're going to need another two tickets to Engeve," I told him. He blinked, looked at the two behind me, then shrugged.

"Same fee as before, times two," he commented, obviously a straining a little to carry the water back to the coach. I rolled my eyes.

"Well I figured that out..." I muttered sarcastically, quietly enough that only Luke and Tear heard me. Luke, I noted, had that slight quirk of the lips that usually meant he was trying not to laugh.

"But we don't have any gald..." Tear started. I shrugged.

"Don't worry about it," I told her. "I have little use for what Natalia pays me anyway, since I don't have to buy much anymore. Food for Koran, but that is... was... about it." I turned around and headed back for the coach, and I could hear footsteps behind me. I absently identified them as Luke's.

"Koran was a pet?" Tear asked. I hunched my shoulders, refusing to answer that with anything more than the 'no' I managed to force out. I walked up to the coachman and started counting out gald again. It took a little longer than before, mostly because there was twice as much to count out, but also because I had to pause at one point as a memory hit me.

_"This'll be enough for months, huh, Koran?"_

Once the money was counted out and the three of us were settled into the coach, Luke crossed his arms. "Natalia said you were going to the Northern Forest."

I nodded. "I'll be stopping in Engeve on the way in, and also on the way out. It's easiest, that way," I said. Tear frowned.

"The Northern Forest isn't exactly safe, though. The ligers—"

"They know me," I interrupted. She blinked.

"How?"

I turned away, leaning against the side of the coach and refusing to speak. Luke answered her, anyway.

"Remember how you asked about Koran earlier? He... He was a liger. Koran and Dark were friends since Dark was a little kid, and for a while, he was the only company Dark had. He died a week and a half ago."

Tear was silent for a while. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

I shrugged, leaning back against the seat and closing my eyes. "Don't worry about it. The past is the past, there's nothing we can do to change it."

If anything else was said, I fell asleep before then.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

**_Kra-boom!_ **

The coach jerked, and my head smacked against the window frame... again.

I groaned. "Ow... Did someone erase the word 'gentle' from the dictionary...?"

Tear sighed as Luke woke up as well. And of course, the first thing the redhead did was stick his head out the window.

"Hey! That coach is under attack!" he cried.

"The army's chasing those bandits! It's those Dark Wings I mistook you for!" the coachman yelled back. I cringed.

'Remind me to drop Noir a notice that Jade's tolerance level has fallen to one percent again,' I thought to myself. 'If it even is Jade...'

**"You there! Move your coach before you get caught in the crossfire!"**

Well, that was blunt.

I grabbed Luke's jacket before he could fall out of the coach as it shifted. I didn't bother to watch what was going on outside. I was kinda hoping that Noir and the others would escape, though. I didn't really want to have to tell Asch that Jade (or someone under his command, more likely) had killed one of Kairi's favorite contacts. Then I heard the explosion, and started hoping avidly that Noir had made it across the bridge before dropping it.

"Whoa!" I looked up and rolled my eyes, seeing Luke now standing over Tear to look out the other window. "That was cool!"

Tear looked slightly irritated as she grabbed his belt and forced him back into his seat. I smiled slightly and gave her a thumbs-up that Luke thankfully didn't see.

"Wow! That's Malkuth's newest land dreadnaught, the Tartarus!" the coachman told us. I crossed my arms, not sure whether to smile or cringe. On the one hand, it meant that it was definitely Jade. On the other...

"Wait, Malkuth?"

I rolled my eyes at the look of surprise on Luke's face. "We're already in Malkuth?" Tear asked, slightly less surprised. Luke looked at her in shock, then at me, an almost betrayed expression on his face.

"You're acting strange... are you three Kimlascan?" the coachman asked. I rolled my eyes.

'No, we're from the Land of Milk and Cookies,' I thought sarcastically. 'Of course we're Kimlascan!' He hadn't asked any questions back in Chesedonia, anyway... "No, we're from Daath. I've got business in Engeve, they're just along for the ride," I answered, seeing that Luke was clueless and Tear didn't seem quite sure of what to say.

Luke opened his mouth, and I shook my head, growling the liger word for 'later.'

Bless his soul, Luke recognized it and stayed quiet, while Tear gave me an odd look. I just shrugged it off, watching the white landship receding in the distance. It was weird, thinking that Kairi had been on it once. Weirder, thinking that Kairi's older brother was in charge of it.

"So, are you a Scorer?"

I blinked, then knocked my head backwards against the wood behind me. "No," I replied bluntly. "I'm just doing a favor for a friend."

Luke frowned. "Which friend, again?" he asked, sounding as if he'd genuinely forgotten. I had to give the kid credit. So long as you weren't watching his facial expressions, you'd never guess that he was acting. One of the weirder things I managed to pound into his head.

"Kairi. She said something about her brother being in Engeve," I said. And I wasn't completely lying. The Tartarus had been headed toward the farming village.

Luke's eyes widened, a dozen questions killing themselves on his tongue, and only barely at that. "So, we're going to go meet him?" he finally guessed. I shrugged, pointing in the direction the landship had gone.

"Who knows? I mean, he is in the military. He could be gone before we arrive."

Luke blinked a couple of times, before he got this really confused look on his face. I bit my lip, trying my hardest not to laugh at the poor kid. Tear sighed.

"Good point. That landship looked like it was headed in the right direction," she agreed.

"Lucky man, if he does end up on the Tartarus. We're not far out from Engeve right now, actually... Hey, I think the landship's still there!" the coachman said. Luke stuck his head out the window again and nodded an affirmative. I shrugged.

"I've never actually met him. I've heard plenty, but if we do catch up to her brother, this'll be the first time I get a chance to talk to him," I said. Then I frowned, wondering what we'd do if we did catch up to the infamous Jade Curtiss. He'd just chased Noir across Rotelro Bridge. Who was to say he wouldn't arrest me and Luke for being on the wrong side of the border?

Somehow, I doubted that would happen. Kairi had always spoken highly of him, especially his intelligence. Noir had probably done something to warrant being attacked, and besides... Jade was mourning, too.

"Here we go! Engeve!"

I blinked in surprise. Had I really spent the last fifteen minutes of the voyage just sitting there and thinking about what might happen if I met Jade?

I shook my head and stepped out of the coach, holding a hand out to help Tear and then making sure Luke didn't trip on his way out. The redhead was amazed by the sight of the small village, which really wasn't a surprise. He'd been locked in the manor for years, after all.

I thanked the coachman and he headed on his way. Then I turned to Tear and Luke, the latter of whom had his arms crossed.

"So, Kairi's brother might be here?" he asked. I nodded.

"Jade was the officer in charge of the Tartarus a month ago, I highly doubt that's changed," I said. "That having been said, be careful. He'll recognize you, and so might a few of the soldiers in the third division. I'm not sure if Kairi ever mentioned this, but you look a lot like Asch, and I know she made that fact clear to Jade and a few others."

Luke frowned. "When you say a lot, how much are we talking?" he asked. I sighed.

"Let's put it this way. Natalia caught sight of Asch when Kairi was in Baticul that first time, and she thought he was you."

"Oh..."

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** The infamous 'Land of Milk and Cookies'  quote is one of the few of Dark's that actually survived all three versions of A Spatial Tear, including the first version, which was never posted, as the initial reception for the original A Ripple in the Abyss was... frosty. For good reason, admittedly, but still._


	2. Chapter 1.2 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gods I'm so relieved to finally be posting this one...

_Laughing at cheagles in front of the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei would not be a good way to end the day... –Dark_

* * *

 

**Dark's POV**

I took a deep breath and sighed. Luke was wandering around with Tear under strict orders not to buy anything. The reason for that order?

"So you really don't mind if I come along to see the ligers?" Luke asked. I shook my head and he grinned. "Great! Um..." I sighed, giving him a pointed look. "Do you mind if we leave tomorrow? I kinda want to check this place out! It's my first time out of the manor, not counting... erm..."

I sighed. "I get it already," I told him, looking over at Tear. She smiled slightly, seeming to understand that I had been on vacation to get away from Luke and his cousin.

"I'll keep an eye on Luke. You take your time," she ordered, already hauling Luke in the opposite direction.

I had to admit, I was grateful for Tear. The woman was definitely good at redirecting Luke's attention, and as long as Engeve was still standing at the end of the day, I really didn't think Duke Fabre would have too much of a problem with me watching Luke while we were out. I knew he wasn't used to the outside world, though, hence my firm order earlier for him to not buy anything.

Of course, when I said that, I hadn't expected him to try stealing something. Well, he wasn't exactly trying to steal. The problem with being in a grocer's village like Engeve was that the food was just kind of sitting there, and Luke... Well. I sighed, watching Tear explain shops to Luke and then walked over once it seemed her explanation was finished.

"We picked up some gald from the monsters, remember?" I heard her say. Luke blinked a couple of times before his eyes widened and he started digging around in one of his pockets.

"Oh, right... I never carry any around, so I completely forgot about it," he said, pulling out a few coins. To Luke's credit, he did know how to count money, and handed over what I'm sure was a little more than necessary. My suspicions were confirmed when the man tried to hand some back. "Keep it for the trouble," he told the merchant, walking away before the man could hand the extra gald back anyway. I smiled, leaning against a nearby storehouse and stuffing my hands in my pockets, fingers brushing against a small wooden object on the way.

"Nicely handled," I said, catching Luke's attention. "But didn't I say something about not buying anything?"

Luke's face turned a shade just a little lighter than his hair. "Sorry... I forgot what you said about paying before eating, and..." he started. I sighed, shaking my head.

"It's alright. Just try not to make that mistake again. I don't need people thinking you're some common thief," I said. He nodded, taking another bite out of his apple and walking on with Tear right behind him. I smiled, grateful that at least someone was watching out for him. Maybe I could talk her into becoming Luke's bodyguard? She was obviously a trained soldier, because I recognized her uniform. Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, and a Locrian Sergeant, if I'd seen the designs correctly.

I shook my head then and pulled my hands out of my pockets, intending to walk away from the storehouse only to bump into someone. "Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, wasn't looking where I was going," I said quickly, picking up the goods the man had dropped and holding them out for him. He looked me up and down with a critical eye before accepting his vegetables.

"Pay a little more attention next time, then, right?" he said. I nodded, walking off down the road a ways. It was little more than an hour later when I heard the commotion start up, and I decided to investigate, just to make sure it wasn't Luke.

Just my luck, it was. I sighed, falling into step behind Tear. "What did he do this time?" I asked. She sighed.

"We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Luke made a comment he probably shouldn't have," she answered. I rolled my eyes, deftly slipping away from the tiny mob and pulling my hood up. People tended to stop noticing me if I just stood still in a corner with my hood up. I was hoping I could still pull it off as Luke was shoved head-first into a relatively fancy house.

"Rose, we've got trouble!" one man said. Rose, Rose... Ah! She was the mayor...

"Hush!" I heard a woman chide the men. "We've got an important guest from the military here." The men obviously weren't listening, because the one in front picked Luke up by the back of his jacket and held him up.

"How can we be calm?! We caught him! We caught the guy stealing food!"

I finally managed to catch sight of the 'guest from the military' and wasn't sure if he was going to choke on his tea laughing or walk over to a wall to bang his head against it. I couldn't blame him, because I was now one hundred percent certain that he was Jade.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" Luke insisted. The men didn't listen.

"Rose! This guy may be with the Dark Wings!" one said.

I rolled my eyes at that one. Yeah, sure...

Luke finally managed to wrangle himself free of the man holding him. "I'm telling you people, I'm not your damn thief! Do I look like I'm going hungry to you?!" I pressed two fingers into my temple and tried to massage out the headache. A little off-base, Luke...

"My, my, what a lively boy. Let's all just settle down first, alright?" Rose suggested. Jade nodded.

"Yes, please do."

"Colonel..." Jade handed over his teacup and the saucer and slipped his hands into his pockets. Luke scowled, obviously in a bad mood, and that boded ill for everyone assembled.

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped.

I moved away from the wall, speaking even as Jade opened his mouth. "Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces."

Jade's crimson eyes locked on me, and I took a deep breath. I had a suspicion as to who had killed Kairi, and she'd been in Grand Chokmah at the time, so... Let's see what he knew...

I lowered my hood quietly, and if the flash of horror and hatred weren't answer enough, I don't know what would have been. Except, I made sure to push my bangs away from my right eyes, and the hatred was clouded over by confusion.

And then it all faded, his eyes as stony as the rest of his expression. "And you are?" he asked. I stuck my hands in my pockets.

"Dark," I answered simply. "My cousin, Luke, and his friend's sister, Tear."

Jade's eyes darted around the three of us before locking back on me and raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. I nodded discreetly at the sword strapped to Luke's back, and he nodded. No one else seemed to notice our little conversation.

"See, look! Two men and a woman! They must be the Dark Wings!" the man in front grumbled. I sighed.

"Colonel, I believe you have personally met the female among the Dark Wings, and if you try to tell me it's Tear, I am going to have to have a very serious conversation with one of your sisters the next time I see her," I stated.

Jade adjusted his glasses, and if that wasn't the slightest upward quirk of the lips, I'd sell my guns. (Which was never going to happen, by the way.) "The Dark Wings were last seen fleeing toward Kimlasca, and with the Rotelro Bridge out, it would be difficult to return so soon," he said.

Rose, however, looked baffled. "What is all this about, Colonel?" she asked. He sighed.

"Dark is an acquaintance of my sister's, and she used to be in contact with one of the Dark Wings. It kept them out of Malkuth then, knowing the military could catch up to them the moment she told me where they were. Not so much anymore... We were forced to pursue them to Rotelro Bridge earlier today," he explained.

"They don't appear to be mere food thieves, either."

I shouldn't have turned around. I shouldn't have. I'd mailed Nephry asking after Sync and Asch after learning of Kairi's death and I shouldn't have done that either.

Sync was dead. He was dead and here was Ion, standing there and looking fucking identical to the mischievous kid that I'd met and started to like.

I turned away from him again, but I turned the wrong direction this time. Luke and Tear stood there, near Ion, and for a moment, I saw Asch, Kairi, and Sync again.

I was the only one who heard the sharp intake of breath across the room, and even then, I only heard it because my ears had adapted to hearing the miniscule differences in the growls that made up the liger language.

I glanced over at Jade, seeing that stony mask falling back into place. Not before I caught that sliver of heartbreak, though, and I knew he'd seen what I had. It wasn't hard, when Ion and Luke were identical to Sync and Asch.

"I was a bit curious, so I investigated the food storehouse," Ion was saying, completely oblivious to the pain his and Luke's combined presences were causing me and Jade. Lucky kid... "I found this in a corner of the room," he continued, holding out a handful of... fur. That was fur...

"Monster fur..."

"This is from a sacred cheagle!" Rose realized. I blinked a couple of times before biting my lip and turning my head away.

"Yes, a cheagle is what probably raided your food stores," Ion said. I bit my lip. Must not laugh, must not laugh...

The mental image of a small, pink ball of fuzz trying to carry a full crate of watermelons (don't ask why my imagination supplied watermelons) made me put a hand to my mouth, and Luke was giving me a look. I just didn't care. Laughing at cheagles in front of the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei would not be a good way to end the day that had been going... fairly well.

Must not laugh...

"See?! I told you I wasn't a thief!"

I couldn't help it, I groaned and buried my head in my hands. I was doomed. I was so going to be murdered before I could leave Engeve.

"Well, sounds like that takes care of that. I think you all have something to say to this boy and his friends?" Rose said, diplomatically stepping in to break everything up. The man in front sighed.

"I'm sorry. With all the burglaries lately, I've been a little on edge," he said. A series of apologies came around after that, and Rose smiled.

"Do you think you can forgive them, boy?"

Luke sighed, temper finally dulling down a little. "I'm not a boy," he grumbled. I rolled my eyes, a series of different sarcastic remarks all nice and lined up for that one.

"I'm sorry. Luke, could we let bygones be bygones?" Rose tried again. Luke shrugged.

"Fine."

"Glad to hear it. Now, I have business with the colonel. I'll figure out a way to stop the cheagles, so all of you just go on home for the day," she said. The men filtered out, followed by Tear, then Luke, and then me.

"Dark?"

I paused in the doorway and looked over my shoulder at Jade. "Are you staying at the inn tonight? There's something I'd like to discuss with you regarding..." he trailed off, his mouth open for one more word, but when it wouldn't come out, he closed it, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be there... Keeping Luke out of any more trouble, hopefully..." I told him. He took a deep breath, and I closed the door behind me, walking after Luke without a word.

"Oof!"

"Gah! What is it with me running into people today?!" I grumbled, pulling the girl off of me. Her face turned red.

"I'm so sorry. I have to go find Ion, bye!" she said quickly, already taking off toward the house I'd just left behind. And her tabard...

"A Fon Master Guardian, huh? So this wasn't the sneak-out mission I was starting to think it was..." I muttered. Then I stepped into the inn to see Luke and Tear at the front desk.

"Sorry about earlier. You can stay here free tonight. It's the least I can do," the man said. Luke smiled and turned, then waved me along as we headed into a room.

"So... Jade is Kairi's older brother?" Luke asked once we were settled in. "He looked like he wanted to murder something for a moment there, when you let your hood down, and then when Ion walked in, I seriously thought he was going to break down crying."

I blinked. "Really?"

Luke's face turned red. "Maybe I was just imagining it..."

I shook my head, smiling now. "No... See, someone delivered a message to me and Natalia, told us Kairi was murdered, that it wasn't an accident. I was starting to get the suspicion that it was my brother. We're identical twins, except for my right eye. Since Kairi was in Grand Chokmah at the time..." I trailed off, trying to see if Luke could catch my train of thought.

"You used yourself as bait to see if the colonel had seen who killed his sister, and if it was your brother," Tear said. I nodded, and Luke bit his lip.

"But why'd he look so torn up after Ion walked in?" he asked. I sighed. This one, I'd already half-explained, but...

"You remember me mentioning that you look like Asch? Ion looks like Sync," I told him. "And Kairi isn't the only one of those three that's dead. Sync died not a week later. Monsters got to him while he wasn't paying attention, apparently. And Keterburg... That's the last place you want to be caught off guard. The strongest monsters in the world are just north of Keterburg."

Luke clenched his fists and looked away. "We reminded him of Kairi's best friends," he said. "And... His mind probably tried to substitute Kairi for Tear, huh?"

I crossed my arms and looked away. "Mine certainly did."

It was silent for a moment before I headed back toward the door. "Jade wanted to talk. I'll be back later. Get to bed, I don't want to have to deal with your grumpy ass in the morning," I said, not bothering to look back as I headed out to wait for Jade on the steps.

The look on his face told me all I needed to know, though. He didn't really want to talk.

He just needed the company of someone who understood.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The ‘series of sarcastic remarks’ comment Dark makes was actually me forcibly not letting Dark say “You realize you pretty much just said you’re a girl, right?” I figure, Echo already launched that comment (or something very similar) in Cries in the Night, and as appropriate as it is for the scene... Well, I can’t take the credit for it._


	3. Chapter 1.3 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 is 9 parts long. If I were good at posting regularly, I would have posted a chapter a day this month and finished this chapter tonight. As it is, I'm now cramming to get at least one of my goals for the month.

_"Enter, the fluffy doomsday bunnies..." -Dark_

* * *

 

**Dark's POV**

"Fuck!"

"Oh my..."

"Uh... Do I even want to know?" Luke asked tentatively. And it was no wonder. He'd never seen me this... aggravated... before.

"I was taking a break by one of the storehouses, and I bumped into someone and dropped the pendant Kairi gave me. Apparently, the merchant I bumped into picked it up and put it down in the storehouse, intending to come find me later, only for the storehouse to be raided. In other words..."

"The cheagles took the pendant along with the food?" Tear guessed. I clenched my fists.

"Yeah. I told the guy I'd pick it up on my way through the Cheagle Woods, though. But then he asked me to get something of his that had been stolen as well. As if I really needed to argue with cheagles all day. I can't even understand cheagles. I'd need to have a liger as a translator, and they hate ligers..." I rambled. Tear blinked.

"Wait... You can understand ligers?" she asked. I groaned, picking up my guns and shoving them into their holsters.

"Let's just get going. The sooner we get the mess with the cheagles over with, the sooner I can get to the Northern Forest and relax," I said, already walking out. Luke sighed, following me quietly.

"Um, can I ask you something?" he piped up before we could leave the inn. I turned with a frown, and he pulled the wooden sword out of his scabbard. "I can understand not wanting me to have something really sharp, but..."

I shook my head. "No, you need a proper blade," I agreed, looking at the merchant near the other wall. He seemed to have a few weapons on him, so I walked over to him to ask after a sword. He only had one, though, and after a moment of looking over it, I decided it would do just fine for Luke's sword style. It wasn't that expensive, either, now that I was running a little shorter on money. I'd have to be more careful about funds from here out. I was the only one of the three of us who had any to speak of.

"Here."

Luke turned around in surprise from where he'd been talking to Tear about cheagles and spotted the sword immediately, wasting no time in replacing his practice sword with the real one. I held my hand out for the wooden blade, and he handed it over carefully. I couldn't blame him. It was the one with the mark on the blade where Kairi had hit it, hard.

I was also the only one with a wing pack, apparently, so I slipped the practice sword into it and then turned around. "Let's go..."

Luke and Tear were on my heels. It wasn't such a big deal that we had to make a detour to the Cheagle Woods. We'd have had to go through part of them anyway to get to the Northern Forest. It took us almost an hour of walking to get to the tree line, though. Luke kept stopping to stare at birds or animals on the way, and I ended up loading a few monsters up with fonic bullets a few times.

Once we reached the tree line, I noticed a slightly worn path and stopped, crouching down to get a better look at the prints. Tracking wasn't one of my best skills, but at least I _could_ track. And what I saw concerned me.

Plenty of little cheagle prints, but there were also human footprints that were about the same size as... Sync. And it was one trail of them, too.

"We're not alone," I said, looking up and already getting to my feet. "And we might be picking up someone else along the way."

Tear frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking at the trail with the same confused expression Luke had. I sighed and shook my head.

"I'll explain after we catch up to him. Hopefully before he gets hurt," I replied, my walk becoming brisk. My eyes darted around, and I brushed hair out of my face more than once, becoming more and more irritable as we went. Then I heard the growling.

It was a little off from the liger language, but I could understand bits and pieces of it well enough.

"...tasty...helpless...fun?"

I clenched my jaw and started running toward the growls. Normally, I'd advise someone to head the other direction. In this case...

"Stay back..." Ion ordered weakly as he came into sight. I drew my guns, took aim, and fired.

"Get back!" I yelled as the green-haired boy turned to look at me in surprise. It irritated me, knowing that Ion couldn't fight. Sync had been prepared to do anything to keep himself and his friends alive, and Ion...

Luke grabbed Ion and pushed him toward Tear, who managed to get the boy out of the line of fire while the two of us went to work. Luke and I had sparred before, one time when Van had decided that it would benefit Luke to face off against a long-range fighter, but we'd never gotten the chance to fight together.

Luke wasted no time laying into one of the wolves, while I kept the other two preoccupied. I wasn't trying to kill them, just keep them away from Luke while the redhead fought his own enemy. Once the first wolf had fallen, he turned and helped me take care of the last two. Already weak, they fell even faster.

I hesitated before putting my guns away, looking around for a moment and listening carefully to be sure that nothing was going to jump out at us.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked as Tear and Ion joined us. Ion smiled.

"Yes, thank you. I was worried I might have to use a Daathic Fonic Arte... Hey, you're the three from Engeve yesterday," he said. I blinked. Well, he might look like Sync, but I had to give the other replica credit for managing to at least sound different. I could hear the similarities in voice perfectly, but the way Ion spoke, as opposed to Sync's rougher dialect...

I took a deep breath and smiled a little. At least Sync succeeded in sounding unique. It gladdened me to know I'd always associate that rough attitude with the older replica.

"I'm Luke," Luke said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Luke... That means 'light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian. That's a nice name," Ion told him. Then the kid turned to Tear, who sighed.

"Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, First Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command," she recited.

My first thought was of victory, because I had successfully guessed her rank and division the day before. The second was of reserved defeat, because I'd been hoping I was wrong and Tear wasn't Van's sister.

"Ah, you're Van's younger sister," Ion said, oblivious to me and Luke now. "I've heard of you. This is the first time we've met, isn't it?"

"You're Master Van's sister?!" Luke practically exploded. I blinked and stared at him, wondering just what had warranted that kind of a reaction. "Then what was with you trying to kill him?!"

"Kill him...?" Ion echoed. I saw the look on Tear's face and wasn't sure whether to smile encouragingly or just gape. On the one hand, she'd tried to kill the bastard I suspected had hired my original. On the other...

I knew what it was like, having a family member who hated you and wanted you dead. Worse, I knew the feeling of harming said family member, knowing that it was kill or be killed. Well, I'd never cared for Danté like that, really, but I called him my brother more often than not.

"Sorry, it's nothing, just something between us," Tear tried to excuse herself. I nodded.

"I can respect that."

"Dark! You're just going to let her avoid the question like that? She's his sister, what reason could she have for trying to kill him?!" Luke cried. I leveled a look just short of a glare on the redhead.

"What reason could Danté have to leave me bloody and dying in the factory?" I asked. "What reason could he have to want to take everything I care about away from me?"

Luke's eyes widened in horrified shock. "But..."

"Tear likely has a good reason for wanting Van dead. If I had the evidence to confirm my suspicions, I might have reason myself. But I don't have any evidence, and Danté has never had any reason to kill me other than 'I live.' So next time you want to scream at someone over wanting to kill someone, remember that. There's always someone with a worse reason."

Luke shut his mouth and looked away from me. I'd always been blunt with the redhead. It sickened me, seeing how pampered he was in that manor, how little they bothered to teach him of the outside world. There were things he needed to hear.

"Hey, it's a cheagle!" Ion broke up the tense silence. I followed his line of sight, and wasn't surprised to see a yellow fluff ball standing not far off. Once all four of us had turned toward it, it seemed to realize we had seen it and ran off. I sighed.

"Enter, the fluffy doomsday bunnies," I muttered. Luke gave me a look.

"What was that?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, Luke. Let's just get going."

Ion was already heading after the little monster, so I followed him. He looked up at me after a few minutes. "By the way, I never caught your name," he said. I sighed.

"Dark Daemione," I admitted, waiting for the surprised outburst I knew was coming. He'd find out sooner or later, anyway.

"The assassin who tried to take out Mohs?!"

I blinked. I hadn't expected Tear to be the one protesting.

"He was tricked into it! It was a trap Mohs set up," Luke said, immediately defending me. I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"True, but I'd have killed him anyway, pissed off as I was when I found out. I wouldn't have minded dying if it meant taking the bastard down with me... And I'm not going to apologize for my attitude toward Mohs," I added, seeing the utterly scandalized look on Tear's face. Ion blinked a couple of times before sighing.

"If that's true, I can't really blame you. You just yelled at Luke about having reasons to want someone dead. If Mohs almost caught and killed you, then I suppose that's an acceptable reason," he said. I shrugged.

"I don't really care, anymore. That life's over, finally. I'm not going back if I can help it," I told him. Then I sighed and jogged up ahead to kneel and check the path. I frowned. Even a cheagle like the one earlier would have left some of this dirt more disturbed... "Damn. Looks like the cheagle from earlier slipped into the underbrush a ways back."

"How can you tell?" Luke asked. I pointed to the trail.

"Earlier, when you asked about how I knew Ion was here, I'd seen his footprints. He's about the same size as Sync, and believe me, I know his footprints. They were fresh, the dirt still too loose to have been in that position long. Now... None of these tracks are less than a few hours old. The dirt's loose from the irregular use of this path, but it's firm enough that we don't notice it right off walking over it," I explained. Luke blinked, and I sighed, expecting that the whole thing had gone in one ear and right out the other. It wouldn't surprise me.

"So, now what?" Tear asked. Ion sighed.

"Cheagles are peaceful and intelligent creatures. Regardless of what you three do, I'm continuing. I need to know what's going on. They wouldn't normally steal food," he said. I frowned.

"What has most of the food been?" I wondered. He looked at me oddly.

"About half of their meat has been taken... Lots of tomatoes, cheese, milk... And eggplant. I remember one farmer complaining that his entire crop of eggplants had been stolen," he said after a moment. I stared at him for a moment before that list morphed into something else, another memory.

_"Oh, eww!"_

_I laughed, folding the mixture again before giving up on using the spoon and sticking my bare hands into the mess._

_"Yuck! Dark!"_

_I just grinned. "Believe me, it looks disgusting to you, but it tastes really good cooked... Or raw, considering that I'm giving half of it to Koran for his dinner tonight," I told the blonde. She held a hand to her mouth, looking like she wasn't sure if she was going to be sick or not. I didn't blame her. Raw meat was gross to stick your hands into if you weren't used to it._

"Damn..."

"What is it, Dark?" Luke asked. I stood.

"Ligers," I answered. "Ligers like meat, but throw in tomatoes or dairy? They'll be in heaven. And eggplant is an especially good way to make a liger happy. I'd know, I used to make a mash for Koran whenever I could. The ingredients? Ion just listed them all off... Well, minus sage. But then, Koran was always a little strange. Most ligers avoid sage like the plague."

Ion's face contorted into a strange expression before he made a hiccupping sound, and I realized that he was both confused and amused. I smiled, and he gave in and laughed. His laugh was different from Sync's, too.

"Why would the cheagles be stealing food that ligers like?" Tear wondered, bringing our attention back to the matter at hand. I sighed.

"Who knows? But the fastest way to find out would be to ask them..."

"The cheagles or the ligers?" Luke asked. I smirked.

"That is a question that would have gotten you a very enthusiastic thumbs-up from Kairi," I told him. "As for the answer... Well, it'd be easier to talk to the ligers, since I can understand them, but we'd have to find liger tracks and follow those to their nest, and... It's not really worth the trouble, with you three involved. So, the cheagles... and hope that we can find some way to communicate with them."

Ion nodded. "Their nest is probably just ahead, anyway. The ligers would be further away, if they're even in this forest at all," he agreed. "I'm still trying to figure out why there would be ligers here at all."

I frowned. "There was a fire further north, in territory I usually avoid. I usually make the crossing to the eastern territory on the Cheagle Woods side of the river, because the southern liger clan is touchy. Even a single pack would be more than enough to wipe out Engeve if they felt like it. Let's hope it's not them." _ ****_

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** One of these days, I will make that meatloaf for myself (since Mom doesn't seem to want to do it again). Until then? I shall content myself with the thought that Koran is in liger-heaven and probably eating a lot of it._


	4. Chapter 1.4 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gods I really shouldn't procrastinate like this...

_"I told you that you weren't going to like it." -Dark_

* * *

 

**Dark's POV**

"Mieu, mieu mieu mieu, mieu!"

"So, that's a cheagle?" Luke asked. I crossed my arms as Tear's eyes started sparkling.

"It looks like it's still a child," Ion said. Tear took a couple cautious steps, forward, and I growled softly when I saw the cheagle's eyes widen.

"She won't hurt you."

It squeaked, eyes locked on me. Tear, too, froze, and I stepped forward a little and crouched. "Mieu, mieu?"

I sighed. "Sorry. I can't speak cheagle," I told the baby. It looked at me with wide eyes, then looked at Tear, who, like me, had knelt. I gently took her shoulder and pulled her back a little. "Don't lean forward so much. You look more like a predator to it doing that."

She looked at me with one big blue eye before nodding and adjusting herself to accept my little correction. The cheagle kept looking back and forth between me and the girl closer to it.

"So cute..." I heard Tear whisper. I smiled.

"She thinks you're cute," I told the baby. It blinked its big, starry eyes and looked up at Tear, taking a cautious step forward. Tear gasped quietly, and the baby froze. I chuckled. "You just startled her," I said when Tear glanced back to me. Then I turned back to the cheagle. "It's alright. She was just surprised."

The cheagle relaxed a little, slowly inching toward Tear, who lowered one of her hands near the ground slowly. It was wary of the hand, and took a moment to creep forward and sniff at it for a moment. Once it relaxed again, Tear carefully moved her hand and lowered it to the baby's head. It tensed up again, but as Tear slowly and gently stroked it, the baby calmed down—completely.

I smiled, slowly standing up and then bending down again, putting my hands on my knees. "See? Not so bad, huh?"

The cheagle mewed a few times, obviously happy, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "So, do you think you could help us out? We're trying to figure out what's going on with Engeve. Is there an older cheagle I could speak to?" I asked. The baby looked up at me and nodded, and I smiled. "Can she pick you up? You can point us in the right direction without getting too tired," I suggested.

The baby looked a bit more hesitant about this, but then turned away from Tear, nodding back toward me. I smiled, and Tear looked up at me in confusion. "You can pick it up, gently. It's going to help us find an older cheagle to talk to about the situation in Engeve," I told her. She looked worried, but picked the baby up anyway.

It's front right paw immediately pointed forward, once it was safely tucked in Tear's arms, and I smiled at the cute sight. I didn't usually do cute, since I'd grown up learning that practical was better. However, in this case, it went hand in hand.

"Wow... It's kinda fun seeing someone talking to a monster like that," Ion said. I shrugged.

"Meh. I can only understand ligers, and I use their system of growls to communicate with monsters. Most monsters can understand between their different species, but they can't understand the human language. Some monsters understand their own language and the human language, but not the language of other monsters. And some are lucky enough to be able to understand most monster languages and the human language. Older cheagles can do this, so it should be easier to speak with the one this little one is going to introduce us to," I explained. I had been absently following Tear, who was carefully following the directions of the little one in her arms.

"Wow... That is one big tree," Luke said. I looked up and nodded.

"Yup. Sylph tree. They do tend to get really big," I agreed. Luke frowned.

"Sylph tree?"

Ion smiled. "Oh, I know this one! There's a legend about a young woman who loved dancing to the sound of the wind in the leaves, and Sylph, the congregate sentience of the third fonon, was so entranced by the way the woman danced that she would fly through the trees of the forest near the girl's village every day in the hopes of seeing her dance!" he started cheerfully. I laughed.

"Oh, wow. I haven't heard that one since I was a little kid!"

Tear paused and looked back at us. "Um... I've never heard it..." she stated. I smiled and looked at Luke, who shook his head, and I sighed.

"We don't exactly have time for a story, but basically, the forest gets cut down, Sylph goes on a small rampage and has to be calmed down by her siblings, the woman finds a single seed that survived all the trees being chopped down, and Sylph blesses the seed so that it grows into a really big tree with leaves that whisper in even the slightest wind," I said, trying to keep the summary short.

Luke sighed. "So, happy ending for everyone?" he guessed. I chuckled.

"It looks like it at first, but it isn't exactly. Sylph knocked down a lot of their houses while she was upset, and the villagers don't dare cut down her tree to make the repairs, and they've already cut down the nearby trees..." I said. Ion cringed.

"I never thought about that..." he admitted. I shrugged.

"Most people don't."

"Mieu! Mieu mieu!"

I stopped and looked up, spotting the hole in the base of the trunk of, yes, the Sylph tree. I sighed. "Well, cheagles do like living inside tree trunks..."

Ion smiled, walking forward, hopping to a rock and then to a root, and stepping through the opening, the baby cheagle wriggling out of Tear's arms to follow just a moment later.

"Fon Master! Wait!" she called. I chuckled and exchanged a look with Luke.

"This kid is hopeless..." he muttered. I shrugged.

The two of us followed Ion, the cheagle, and Tear through into the trunk, and I couldn't help but nod approvingly. As monster homes went, this was one of the better ones.

Unfortunately, the cheagles didn't seem to like us much, as they were all gathered in a ring around the entrance. The little pink baby was pulled away by a yellow cheagle, probably a parent, and it mewed sadly as it was drawn away.

"Mieu mieu, mieu mieu mieu!"

I rolled my eyes and growled. "None of us can understand your language," I announced. "But we're here peacefully."

A cheagle in the back mewed a few times, and the crowd of cheagles parted reluctantly.

"Peacefully, you say. Yet you speak the language of our tormentors, and more than likely also that of our probable exterminators," the cheagle farthest from us said. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. A cheagle speaking a human language?

"You can speak our language?" Luke asked before any of the rest of us could.

Ion frowned. "The Order's founder Yulia Jue made a pact with the cheagles and gained their aid... I highly doubt she spoke a monster language, however. It's a very rare gift," he said. The cheagle came forward a little.

"It is the power of the ring we were given as part of our pact with Yulia. Are you of relation to Yulia?" it... no, she asked. Ion nodded, walking forward to meet the cheagle halfway, and being sure not to step on any of the colorful fluff-balls at his feet.

"I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. Am I correct in assuming that you are the cheagle elder?" he asked. I sighed. Well, give the kid points. He's way more diplomatic than Sync would ever have been.

'Damn it...' I thought, realizing that I had just compared Ion to Sync, again. 'I need to stop that. It doesn't matter anymore anyway...'

"What did you mean, about tormentors and exterminators?" Tear asked. I sighed.

"It's the ligers, isn't it?" I guessed. "That fire I heard about was in liger territory, correct? A pack moved down here and is threatening to prey on you if you don't provide them with food." This was all a theory, but I figured it was a likely one.

The cheagle elder nodded. "Indeed. One of our tribe's members was playing around and caused a fire in the Northern region, and while it was technically within our woods, we had agreed with that pack of ligers generations ago that they could live just this side of the river, where the wolves and easier prey were more plentiful. They have moved further south now, and their queen is very angry with us," she explained. I nodded.

"And since you've been feeding them by stealing from Engeve, you were expecting hunters to come and kill the pests taking their food."

"Yes, again. But if we don't send food periodically, the cheagles of the tribe are captured and eaten," she said.

"That's terrible..." Ion whimpered. Luke sighed.

"And not exactly our problem..." he added. I scowled, elbowing the redhead in the side, hard. "What?! It's not!" he cried defensively. Tear sighed.

"Food from Engeve is shipped throughout the entire world, not just Malkuth," she said. "We have to do something..."

"Like what? The ligers are pissed because one of the cheagles burned down their home, right? What are we supposed to do about that?" Luke asked. I sighed.

"And it's worse than just that, Tear. If this pack was in northern Cheagle Woods, that means it has to be a southern clan pack," I said.

Ion blinked. "Um... I hate to sound completely ignorant, because one of my former Fon Master Guardians was raised by ligers, but... What are you talking about, exactly?"

I sighed. "Arietta was raised by southern clan ligers. They are stubborn, testy, and will attack first and ask questions later, if they ask questions at all. They hate outsiders, and if they think for even a moment that we have a chance of fighting back, they will attack us," I said. Luke's eyes widened.

"Koran was never like that though!" he cried. I shrugged.

"Koran was eastern clan. Minimized contact with humans, fairly easy pickings... They're the most docile of the three clans, but don't mistake docile for complacent. Their queens are usually the most skilled fighters," I said. Ion sighed.

"So, we probably wouldn't be able to negotiate with them?" he asked. I blinked, then sighed, shaking my head.

"It'd be difficult. We'd definitely have to take a cheagle ambassador with us, since they currently have a... I'll call it a truce... with the pack," I said. "But it would probably be best if we left the translating to me."

The cheagle elder looked around a bit before mewing, and a small blue cheagle bounced out of the crowd a moment later. This one was only slightly bigger than the baby Tear had carried here earlier.

"This is Mieu," the elder said. I raised an eyebrow.

"I take it his name can't be translated between the two languages?"

The elder chuckled a bit. "Indeed. He is also the one responsible for the fire in the north. I want you to take him with you as the ambassador," she said. Then she turned around and lifted the ring she'd been carrying, bringing it down on Mieu's head only for it to knock both cheagles to the ground. The elder got to her feet again and pointed at the ring on the ground, mewing a few times. Mieu stepped into the ring and pulled it up around his belly before looking up at us.

"Hi! I'm Mieu! Pleased to meet you!" he said in such a high-pitched voice that I was almost certain he should have been a girl.

"Something about this guy is really annoying..." Luke grumbled. I couldn't help but smile a little. Couldn't disagree there. Mieu's voice did grate on the ears a little. I shook my head.

"Let's just get going," I suggested. Luke nodded, turning around and heading out of the tree. Tear followed him, and I gestured for Mieu and Ion to go next. I paused before I left, though, and turned to look at the elder.

"I know you can't reply now, but while we're gone, do me a favor and look for two things. The first is a small box, the second is... a carved wooden pendant. They were in with some of the things you took."

The cheagle elder nodded once and started mewing, probably ordering the cheagles to get to work. I'd growled to make sure all of them would understand.

I caught up to the others just outside.

"That's cool!"

I stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What did I miss?"

Luke turned around and grinned. "Mieu can breathe fire!"

I shrugged. "Yeah. All adult cheagles can, and that ring is probably a capacity core of some type, which means that even though Mieu's fire isn't nearly as potent as an adult's without it, he can likely outlast an adult with it."

Luke's mood deflated, and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Luke, was that really necessary?" Tear asked. I shrugged.

"Better that than what happened last time something like this occurred," I said. Ion's wide eyes looked up at me as we finally started moving.

"What happened?"

I sighed. "Luke went off on a rant about how he didn't remember everything, I ignored him, he started ranting about being ignored, and... Well, if Luke's father hadn't heard the entire thing from start to finish, I'd have lost my job two months ago, since it involved me shooting at him to get his attention and then a long tongue-lashing that was not polite at all."

Luke cringed, obviously enjoying the trip down memory lane as much as I was.

I zoned out for a little bit, until I realized there was a small river right in front of me and stopped. I took a moment to gauge distance and speed, and sighed.

"Luke, you're not going to like this," I said in warning. His eyes widened.

"Why...?"

Tear crossed her arms. "No bridge, and it's too wide to jump... we'll have to wade across."

Luke groaned. "Everything'll get wet!" he complained. I sighed.

"I told you that you weren't going to like it. Wet shoes and pants now means mud caked all over our legs later, but we have to get across somehow. I'd tell you to stay here, but I'd rather not leave you in the middle of the forest, and if it does come to a fight with the ligers, we'll need your sword," I said.

Luke bit his lip, eyes scanning the opposite side. He put a hand on my shoulder before I could step into the water. Then he looked down at Mieu. "Hey, Mieu? See that tree over there?" he asked, pointing. I looked up at the tree, noting that it was mostly dead. "Breathe fire on its roots," he ordered.

The cheagle bounced over to do so, and I smiled.

"You're learning to observe things properly, Luke. I'm proud of you. I actually missed that one," I told him.

And if it swelled his ego a little bit, I'd allow it for now.

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** When I started rewriting A Ripple in the Abyss_ _, I kept checking back to the second version and copying a lot of scenes from it. However, because I changed so much in Re:ARitA, the only reason I looked through A Spatial Tear when I started rewriting it was to make sure my outline was still following the original story. One such discrepancy is in the fact that in ARitA, Kairi made it back to Grand Chokmah before Jade, Ion, and Anise left on the Tartarus. Here, she's actually in St. Binah when Luke and Tear get blasted out of the manor. (It's shown in a Colored Ripples chapter, but... one thing at a time.)_


	5. Chapter 1.5 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another...

_“Yeah, but then, mine can’t exactly be classified as ‘normal.’” –Dark_

_“What? Sometimes I have nothing better to do than sit and listen to people argue.” –Luke_

* * *

**Dark's POV**

"Hey... I've been wondering about something for a while now..." Luke started. I sighed.

"I was wondering when you were going to start asking questions again..." He shot me a half-hearted glare before looking over at Ion.

"So, you mentioned... Daathic Fonic Artes earlier? What's the difference between those and normal fonic artes?" Luke asked. Ion blinked for a few moments, obviously not quite sure where to start, so I sighed.

"Daathic Fonic Artes are tuned to a specific range of human fonon frequencies. They can only be used by people within that range. Those whose fonon frequencies sit within that range, however, are also qualified for the highest position in the Order of Lorelei," I said. Ion shot me a grateful look.

"Yes. Only a Fon Master can use Daathic Fonic Artes. They're more powerful than your average artes, as well," he added. I shook my head though.

"Actually, the first half of that is a common misconception," I corrected him. "It's rare for there to be more than one person who can use Daathic Fonic Artes at any given time, but it could be possible for there to be hundreds of people capable of using them. It's just that one annoying range of fonon frequencies."

Luke sighed. "Okay, back up and start from the beginning, please..."

I rolled my eyes. "Every living creature has a unique fonon frequency. It's kind of like a fingerprint, except that fonon frequencies can change, under certain circumstances," I said.

"That's really rare though," Tear added.

"So, the Daathic Fonic Artes can only be used by people whose fonon frequencies are in a certain range... Why?" Luke wondered. I shrugged.

"I'm not completely sure, actually. I know that much, because I have to be careful about creating artes to make sure I'm not specializing them for my fonslots alone, but the full theory behind why the Daathic Fonic Artes are tuned to a certain range and how it happens? Sadly, Danté would probably know more about that," I said.

Ion frowned. "Actually, I think it has something to do with what you mentioned earlier about fonon frequencies changing. Most normal fonic artes will mutate into a Daathic Fonic Arte if they're overloaded and the person has the potential to be a Fon Master," he said. Luke looked over at me.

"Overloading is what you have to fine-tune all of your artes for, isn't it?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, but then, mine can't exactly be classified as 'normal.'"

Luke shrugged. "Whatever. Ugh, another one?"

I glanced up ahead finally and groaned in agreement with Luke. Another small river. Great.

"Mieeuuu, there's another tree like the one we used as a bridge before!"

My eyes scanned the far bank, and I smiled, then looked down at Mieu. "Well, then. Have at it."

Mieu happily bounced over to the edge and breathed fire before skedaddling back to Luke. I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have wanted to be under where that tree was going to fall either.

Once we had ourselves another tree bridge and made it across, Mieu squeaked.

"Ligers!"

I caught sight of them almost as quickly, and scowled. Lower ranked ligers, all of them... No higher ranks anywhere to be found, yet at least. Well, might as well try to be friendly...

"Hello."

The ligers all paused to stare at me, before exchanging cautious looks. Then, after a few more glances back at the five of us on the riverbank, they turned and disappeared into the foliage. I cringed.

"Damn."

Ion blinked. "What did you say to them?" he asked.

"Uh, 'hello' if I remembered that one right," Luke said. Ion looked up at him, and he shrugged. "What? Sometimes I have nothing better to do than sit and listen to people argue. Listening to Dark and Koran was more interesting than a lot of the arguments I ended up overhearing."

I chuckled. "And we certainly argued often enough. Also, words like 'hello,' 'later,' and 'thank-you' ended up getting passed around a lot. Picking up random bits and pieces of a language happens when you're around two people speaking it as often as we did," I added. Then I became serious again. "Those ligers... They were surprised to hear the liger language coming from my mouth, but not simply because it was. They knew they didn't recognize me... This is Arietta's pack."

Ion's eyes widened, and we were all quiet for a moment. "Maybe I should write to Arietta, tell her to convince them to move back north. If it's her pack..."

I shook my head. "There's no telling that she'll be able to do it soon enough. And if our negotiations fall through, at least we have a backup plan," I said. "Let's go... I don't think the ligers are planning on attacking us yet, but we've got work to do."

Luke nodded and looked toward where the trail led around a bend up ahead. Then he started walking, Ion behind him and Tear next to the Fon Master. Mieu skipped along on Ion's other side, while I brought up the rear. It hadn't really been planned, but it was a good formation. It kept the weakest of us in the middle, where he'd be out of trouble, and put Luke up front. I hated to admit it, but I'd spent so long not really fighting that, while my aim hadn't really suffered, I didn't dare have the fonon cylinders on full power in case I did miss my target. Especially with Luke. The kid was unpredictable.

"No, leave me alone!"

I paused, not even noticing that the others left me behind to investigate a large hole in the ground.

"Get away from here, eastern scum!"

My eyes widened as a baby liger came rolling out of the brush, three lower-ranked southern ligers chasing it with obvious intent to hurt or kill. I shot forward, grabbing the little girl up and rolling out of the way of the adults' charges.

"Hey, where'd the wimp go?" one of the ligers growled as it stood up again, having tumbled to the ground after failing to land on its prey. The baby girl in my arms stared up at me with wide eyes, and I held her close.

"Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you," I growled softly to her. Then I looked up at the older ligers, my eyes hardening into a glare. "What is the meaning of this?"

The ligers snapped at me. "She's eastern!"

"Hand her over!"

"She's trespassing!"

I snarled at the three of them as they tried to get closer. "So am I!"

The ligers backed off only a little, and only for a few moments before they ran in at me again. "Then you can both die!"

"Dark?!"

My eyes widened when I spotted the redhead who had just climbed back out of the hole, and I was shocked as he ran over, managing to jump over the trio of ligers and turn the moment he landed.

Mieu on his shoulder hopped off and started mewing to the ligers.

"Ambassadors? Ha!" the lead liger barked. He glared at me before growling in warning. "Fine. We'll let the eastern fools pass for now. But we'll see what the queen has to say about this before the day is out."

Then the three ligers turned and split, and I sighed, standing out of my crouch and making sure that the shaking baby in my arms was alright. Once I was sure she would live, I turned around and hit Luke on the head as hard as I could.

"Ow!"

"Luke, Dark! What was that all about?" Tear asked, standing near the entrance to the nest with Ion. Luke rubbed his sore head.

"Dark was being attacked," he said. Then he looked up at me. "But why?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Remember what I said earlier about Koran being eastern?"

Luke, Tear, Ion, and Mieu nodded. "Yes. Also, what's with the baby liger?" Tear added.

"They were going to kill her..." I said quietly. "I stepped in because they kept calling her 'eastern'. And... Well, think about it this way. Arietta was raised by ligers, I was raised with ligers. They consider us to be ligers as well, so just like they've separated themselves into clans..."

Ion's eyes widened. "Oh my... It sounds to me like the southern and eastern clans aren't exactly friendly anymore..." he said. I shrugged.

"They never were. The southern clan always got on better with the western clan, and the western clan tolerates the eastern. It was just clashing attitudes. I never knew it got this bad though, that they would kill an alpha-level pup, and a female at that," I said, keeping the little girl close. She was still trembling, and I didn't blame her. She couldn't have been more than a month old, but to be so far from home...

"I guess it's a good thing we're headed further north after this, huh? We'll be able to take her back home," Tear said. I nodded.

"Yeah. Let's just deal with this first."

Ion nodded and turned around, heading back down into the nest, with Mieu and Tear right behind him. Luke stayed back with me. "You know that was stupid, right?" I started. Luke nodded, refusing to meet my eyes. "But you turned the moment you hit the ground, you protected your back."

He sighed. "I figured, if I was going to be stupid, I could at least try to avoid being suicidal," he said. I smiled and nodded, letting the matter drop. I had more important things on my mind. Or at least, in my arms. "So... what's her name?"

I shrugged and repeated the question in a growl. The girl just stared at me with wide eyes before burying her head in my elbow. I sighed. "I'll ask again later when she's calmed down a little," I decided.

The five of us stopped at a turn. We could see a rather large open area nearby, and I sighed.

"Do you want me to hold the liger?" Tear asked. I shook my head.

"No. It would be best if only the two of us are marked out as easterners," I told her. Then I adjusted my grip on the little girl so I could hold her with one hand and grab one of my guns with the other. I'd done this plenty of times with two hands, but one? I just barely managed to knock the switch, flip the dial back up to max, and then get the switch back into place.

Tear started a little at the quiet whirring sound that started up as the particle accelerator worked itself up again. I sighed. "One gun... might as well have it on full power. This little one probably isn't planning on releasing my arm any time soon," I said, slipping the gun back in its holster before turning and walking up the small incline into the cavern.

"Who dares disturb me?"

I looked up at the liger queen and bowed my head. "A party of ambassadors, your ladyship," I replied evenly. The queen stood, a low warning growl in her throat, and I spotted the eggs almost immediately. "Oh hell..."

"Oh no. Eggs... This isn't going to be easy at all, is it?" Tear asked. I sighed, waiting for the queen to speak again.

"You... You smell of the eastern cowards. Why have you come here?"

I took a deep breath. "We are here on behalf of the village of Engeve," I told her.

She growled. "So, you've allied yourselves with the humans?"

"Your ladyship, please understand. I haven't been home in many years, and this little one is lost," I told her. "But a mutual friend of mine and your daughter's asked a favor of me, because I was in the area."

The liger queen roared. "You lie!"

I bit my lip. "Then she never spoke to you of Fon Master Ion?"

The surprise on the liger queen's face was plain, and I took a deep breath, seeing that I had finally gained the upper hand. "Please, hear us out."

The liger queen growled. Another warning growl, but this one was much less threatening. "You wish us to leave, don't you?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yes, your ladyship."

She steadied herself, and, realizing what was coming, I reached back and grabbed Ion's shoulder as she roared her displeasure and refusal at us. It was a good thing I did, or the poor kid would have been sent sprawling.

"Never! First your clan's involvement with the humans brought them into our territory, and my sisters' packs were decimated. Then the fire in our home drove us out. And you dare ask us to leave when my eggs are so close to hatching?!"

I cringed. "Okay, not good," I muttered, backing up slowly. But the queen was incensed, and I was getting the feeling nothing was going to quiet her down.

"Oh no! She's going to kill us and feed us to her children, isn't she?!" Mieu cried, scared. I sighed, pulling the gun out of its holster and aiming it at the liger queen.

"I don't want to have to use force, ma'am," I told her, deliberately using the lesser title. Koran had been an alpha-rank, and he had always treated me as an equal. I wasn't going to let a queen I cared nothing for degrade me. She glared at me.

"Then die!" she snapped, running at me. I fired twice, aiming for her eyes. Tiny, moving targets are difficult to hit even for a sniper who's had the recent practice. Me? Not so much. One shot hit, the other missed.

Luke hit her with a Fang Blade on her blind side, and she snapped at him, just barely avoiding losing his arm. Then he glanced off to one side before retreating a bit. "Dark, the eggs!"

I bit my lip. "Ion, we'll try to keep her to one side. See how many of the eggs you can get out of here," I ordered. The green-haired boy nodded as we drove the raging liger queen over to one side, and he darted past.

It was all we could do to keep the queen from running around wildly.

"They're safe!" I heard Ion call.

"Good, because I'm finishing this."

I froze, and so did Luke, when we heard that voice. Good thing Tear didn't as she pulled Luke away.

"O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!"

I turned on my heel even as the liger queen succumbed to the powerful arte.

"Kairi?!" ** __**

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Originally had a longer battle scene worked out, but... eh. At least they_ tried _to negotiate._


	6. Chapter 1.6 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there...

_“If you want to go somewhere, I suggest you get lost quickly.” –Kairi_

_“I can’t exactly put you in my wing pack, and you’re getting a bit big for me to carry you.” –Kairi_

_“It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with that opinion on cheagles.” -Dark_

* * *

I scowled. My leg was hurting again, dammit... Now I really felt sorry for Cantabile. I definitely understood what she had to go through, at least.

Another liger jumped out of the bushes and I batted it to the side. I didn't have time for this!

I spotted the hole in the ground just before I heard a yowl behind me. Like, right behind me. So, Jade was finally catching up, huh?

I slid down into the hole and then leapt from the tree root to the ground, making sure to put more of my weight on my left leg. I didn't need my right knee buckling right now.

I spotted Ion running out with an egg, and he placed it down next to another three eggs. I smiled, realizing that they'd saved the eggs, even though I knew the liger queen would likely have to die.

"They're safe!" Ion called, not even noticing me as I scouted out the situation. Dark had something in his left arm, meaning he only had one gun, and Luke and Tear seemed tired.

"Good, because I'm finishing this," I announced, already settling into a casting stance not far from Dark. The two boys in the group froze, and Tear had to pull Luke away so he wouldn't get hurt. It was nice, the feeling of Energies and fonons flocking around me again after so long simply using Energies...

"O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!"

The liger queen roared angrily as she was enveloped in blue flames, and Dark turned around to stare wide-eyed at me.

"Kairi?!"

I smiled, my eyes locking on Luke's. He had been the one to cry out, after all.

"Impossible..."

All eyes, including mine, turned to see the man who was now standing next to Ion in the entrance to the cavern.

My heart felt like it had been smashed to pieces when I saw that expression on Jade's face. Shock, horror, hope, and pain. So much pain. I gulped, stepping forward a few steps only to end up right into his arms.

"I'm sorry..."

Jade was shaking, too. "No... Kairi... No..."

I realized then what he was worried about, and reached for his mind with my own. I hadn't used my telepathy in a while, either. Not properly at least.

*It's me, Jade... spirit Energies can't be replicated...* I told him.

I suddenly went from clutching my older brother like a lifeline to supporting him as he pulled me close and tried to bury his head in my shoulder. I was just a little short for that, but I knew neither of us cared anymore.

"Never, ever... do that to me again..." Jade whispered. I smiled and tightened my grip for a moment before I finally pulled away.

"Not planning on it, believe me, although it might be helpful in the long run if it happens once this huge mess is taken care of," I told him quickly, referring to being shot through the knee. Jade blinked a couple of times before shaking his head.

"I'm not even going to bother asking, because it will take way too long to make sense of," he decided. Then he turned to Ion. "By the way... I thought Anise and I told you not to run off again without warning us."

Ion ducked his head, and I bit my lip, my mind overlapping his image with one of Sync doing the exact same thing.

"I'm sorry."

Luke sat down next to the nest and made a face. "This left a bad taste in my mouth..."

Dark looked over and sighed. "We saved some of them, at least. And it was self-defense. We didn't provoke her. I hope Arietta will understand," he said. I frowned.

"She won't, likely. But we'll just have to deal with that hurdle when we get to it. Luke, Dark, Tear, are you three alright?" I asked.

Tear stared at me. "How do you know my name?" she asked. Jade adjusted his glasses next to me.

"She has a habit of that. She hasn't told me how she does it yet, either," he answered. "That having been said, we should leave here before the ligers decide to attack us for killing their queen."

I shook my head. "They still have to report to the cheagle elder."

Dark groaned. "You and I need to have a long talk. Now," he said, marching over, grabbing my arm with his free hand, and dragging me along out of the cavern. I winced as I put weight on my right leg, because fire shot up it the moment I did.

Once we were away from the others, Dark turned to me. "You mentioned something about game events when you told us about where you came from, and Tales of the Abyss. They've started?" he guessed. I nodded.

"Yeah. Tear broke into Fabre Manor to kill Van on Remday," I said. Dark sighed.

"I hope your memory is good enough to allow for the variations we both know you've caused..." he muttered. I shrugged, spotting Anise slipping into the cavern and then back out.

"Come on, let's go see what kind of trouble they're getting into."

We stepped back into the cavern to see Ion apologizing to Jade again.

"And you've involved civilians as well," I heard my brother say. Luke groaned.

"Hey, old man, he's apologizing, right? Give him a break."

I giggled, and they turned to look at me. "Sorry, just hearing someone other than Sync call Jade an old man..." Dark sighed, and Jade shook his head.

"Well, we don't have much time anyway. I'll stop the lecture at that," my brother said. Ion looked up at him.

"The letter arrived, didn't it?" he guessed. Jade nodded.

"We'll report to the cheagles and then return to the Tartarus," he said. Then he turned to me. "You'll come with us, won't you?"

I nodded. "I have to get Asch back, but I'll get the chance along the way, I know. No reason to shortchange the fighters you have on hand, right?" Jade smiled a bit and nodded. I turned and started out of the ligers' den, Dark right on my heels with what I was now sure was a baby liger in his arms.

"Where did he come from, anyway?" I asked. Dark chuckled.

"'She,' Kairi. Also, something seems to be up between the eastern and southern liger clans... Oh hell. Please tell me I'm going to have a chance to take her home," he groaned. I cringed.

"If you want to go somewhere, I suggest you get lost quickly."

"I'm not going anywhere until I've got that pendant back," he said bluntly. I smiled, realizing what pendant he had to be talking about. It was quiet for a few moments, until Luke caught up to us, Mieu settled in on his shoulder. I raised an eyebrow at the sight, and Luke looked a little sheepish.

"He kept falling behind, and then he kept falling off of Tear's shoulder," he said by way of an explanation. I glanced at Dark, wondering if the personality change had been a product of his involvement. He raised an eyebrow, subtly asking if I really minded. I smiled, and Luke groaned.

"If you two are going to have a conversation, could you at least have it out loud?" he complained. I grinned, glancing at Dark.

*Aw, but it's so much fun when he has no idea what we're saying...*

Dark elbowed me in the side and I hissed a little as I stumbled over onto my right leg. He looked at me worriedly, and I shook my head. "I'm fine," I said, brushing it off. "Your brother isn't exactly gentle," I added when Dark didn't look convinced.

Luke cringed. "You're gonna be okay though, right? No more letting us think you've died?" he asked. I smiled.

"Believe me, I'm not disappearing like that again. Not if I have any say in it at all. And the asshole who killed one of my best friends and locked the other up is going to be regretting it very soon, I'm sure," I said.

"Just out of curiosity, who would that be?" Ion asked. I blinked.

"Believe me, you don't want to know," I stated, hopping up onto one of the tree bridges and walking across carefully. I didn't want to use my right leg much right now, but...

I sighed quietly in relief when I made it across, then stepped to the side where I'd be out of the way. Jade was the next across, and he pulled me a little further away, gently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "You've been limping since you stepped into the hollow. I can tell you're trying to hide it, but you're in pain." I sighed, unable to look Jade in the eye. How the hell was I supposed to tell him that I was as crippled as Cantabile, if not worse? "Do you want me to carry you for a little while? You've been running for hours, you must have been."

I rolled my eyes, about to tell Jade off for pretty much calling me weak, when I made the mistake of shifting my weight onto my right knee.

I hissed, Jade catching me before I could tumble into the creek.

"Kairi?!"

I chuckled, looking up at Luke as another kind of fire shot through my body. "I'll be fine..." I said, managing to stand up again. Then I grimaced, looking back up at Jade. "But I'm worried I might have to take you up on that offer... Damn... I hope Danté rots in a pit..."

Jade's lips quirked up at that, and he finally let out a chuckle, turning around and bending slightly so I could wrap my arms and legs around him. I noted how careful he was with the hand supporting my right leg, and smiled, muttering my thanks into the back of his uniform.

"Are you hurt?" Tear asked, obviously ready to heal me if necessary. I tried to smile, but it was strained, as another wave of fire ripped through my veins.

"Healing artes won't help, unfortunately. I'll have to sit down and patch myself back together later," I admitted. "In the meantime, we should get going before my weight ruins my older brother's back."

"How considerate..." Jade muttered sarcastically. I flicked him in the head, lightly.

"Keep it up, I'll make Luke carry me. Then you'll be short your only two short-range fighters."

Needless to say, he shut up quickly.

"You're a martial artist, then?" Ion guessed, not having seen my sword after I'd put it away. I shook my head, then poked the wing pack at my hip.

"I prefer using it as a last resort. No reason to be carrying my sword around all the time, especially in a small town like Engeve. It's nice to simplify things..."

"Meow."

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you were going to catch up," I commented. The white kitten gave me the nastiest look she could before turning around and following Ion, after a moment of consideration. I giggled. "Sorry. I can't exactly put you in my wing pack, and you're getting a bit big for me to carry you."

Valkyria flicked her tail, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Is that... an Aegis cat? ...kitten..." Tear corrected herself. Jade sighed.

"Courtesy of Emperor Peony, yes..."

"Should I be worried that you don't exactly sound thrilled about that?" Dark asked. Jade turned to him and raised an eyebrow, and the former assassin rolled his eyes.

It made me smile, watching the two of them interact, given that Jade knew who my kidnapper was. At least he'd gotten his facts straight with these two.

"Wait... Let me get this straight," Tear started. "You've met Emperor Peony."

"I've been drug around Grand Chokmah in a Malkuth military officer's uniform by him before," I supplied.

"You are apparently friends with Emperor Peony..."

"Not as close as Jade, but yes."

"So he gave you a cat."

"Pretty much."

Tear put a hand to her forehead, and Dark and I smiled.

"Tear, don't stress yourself. You have to meet Emperor Peony to understand the man. He's very..."

"Eccentric?"

"Thank you, Jade, but I was thinking a little more along the lines of 'unpredictable,'" Dark said. Jade chuckled.

"I suppose that works too."

Ion watched us with wide eyes. "I'm not sure whether to be glad I was in the palace for business or a little disturbed..." he said. I smiled, then yawned.

"If you fall asleep I will have no reservations about dropping you on the ground," Jade warned me. I smiled.

"It can wait until we get to the Tartarus..." I said. "But then I'm falling asleep, and fuck anyone who says I can't."

Luke cringed. "How long have you been on the move?" he asked. I frowned.

"Eight hours, running about a third of that," I answered. "On only four hours of sleep, to boot, although I did spend an hour after I woke up trying to take care of my knee."

Jade was very silent for a few moments. "I was teasing about dropping you, you know..."

I smiled at his veiled apology. "Meh. I'm gonna do a little more for my knee while these guys are dealing with the fluffballs of doom."

Note that the last few words were muffled from me burying my face in Jade's back as he jumped down from the second tree-bridge.

"You okay?" Dark asked. I nodded, fighting the pain back out of my expression. Then I spotted the smirk on the former assassin's face. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one with that opinion on cheagles," he added, more quietly. I couldn't help but giggle. Yes, I could see Dark not appreciating cheagles, given the fact that he did grow up with a liger.

"Almost there," Ion announced. Sure enough, it wasn't two minutes later and we were standing outside the tree.

"Put me down," I ordered Jade. My brother glanced at me over his shoulder before gently letting my legs go, left one first so I wouldn't land hard on the right.

Once I was on the ground again, I sat down and stretched my leg out, closing my eyes and reaching around me.

"What's she doing?"

"This is her form of healing. Come on. Let's get finished with the cheagles," Jade prompted, subtly getting Tear off my back. I wasn't in the mood to deal with explaining Energies right then.

Reaching out onto the second plane was a blessing, and I carefully started guiding Energies toward my knee, hissing in pain as the water Energies started swirling around it. I clenched my jaw and bowed my head, forcing earth Energies in next to strengthen the joint. It was all I could really do at that point.

I barely even noticed Jade and the others coming out of the tree before I passed out.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** “I hope Danté rots in a pit.”

_...Well, someone certainly changed her mind between the beginning of Re:AST and the end of Re:AST. O.o_


	7. Chapter 1.7 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can do it...

_“Oh, and we've been arrested." –Dark_

_“...and a bowl of milk for the impatient kitten trying to get onto a stool.” –Jade_

* * *

 

"Tell the ass with the sledgehammer to lay off, will ya?"

Three familiar chuckles and one not-so familiar awkward cough reached my ears, but when I opened my eyes, I realized that two of them weren't the people I'd been hoping for. I sighed.

"Right... Dead Sync... Damn. I'm really starting to like my little daydreams... I passed out, didn't I?"

Dark smirked. "Yup."

I raised my head to glance around before letting it fall again. "And we're on the Tartarus... Hey, this is the cabin Asch, Sync and I stayed in..."

"Did you hit your head or something?" Luke asked. I couldn't help it, I busted up laughing.

"No... I'm almost always this mentally disorganized... I've just got a filter between my brain and my mouth most of the time," I admitted, finally sitting up. I flexed my right knee slowly, smiling when I realized there was very little pain. Lots of stiffness, but that was normal.

"So, you're the colonel's sister?"

I looked up, taking stock of the people around me.

One obnoxious, red-haired replica; check.

One quiet melodist; check.

One former-assassin-turned-bodyguard; check.

One white Aegis kitten; check.

One baby liger; check.

One cheagle with an annoyingly high voice; check.

One replica of Zion in the position of Fon Master; check.

One overly-cheerful Fon Master Guardian; check.

One smart-aleck colonel... Um...

"Where _is_ my brother?" I asked. Tear smiled slightly.

"He said he'd be back before you woke up. I guess he wasn't expecting you to recover so quickly," she said. I blinked a few times, then tilted my head to the side and looked at Dark.

"You've been out of it for about three hours... Oh, and we've been arrested."

The second half of this statement was made so cheerfully that for a moment, I seriously contemplated knocking him over the head with my frying pan.

Then I realized that my frying pan had gone missing after the kidnapping and hadn't been put in my wing pack.

My expression shifted from confusion to annoyance, which was accompanied by a growl. Dark groaned, while the baby liger stared at me, looking rather affronted.

"Uh, what'd she say?" Luke asked. Dark just stood there, head hung as if in shame... which, to be quite honest, it might have been.

"I'm not repeating that," he stated.

I shrugged when Luke turned to me. "I don't know what I said either, so don't ask me."

Ion frowned. "Is speaking in a monster language on accident even possible?" he asked. Dark gave me a pointed look, and I sighed.

"Apparently, yes, although if I remember what Dark told Natalia right, it's very difficult. I seem to have a talent for it."

"And for curse words," Dark piped up.

"I growl when I'm really, really not happy. Of course I'd be cursing," I argued. Then I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood carefully. I smirked. My leg really was feeling much better now. "So, since you three have been arrested... Does that mean we're locked in here?"

The shortest human in the cabin lifted up an arm, drawing my attention to her as she spoke. "Yeah! The colonel said you'd be more comfortable waking up in here with Dark and Luke, but Ion wanted to stay, so I ended up staying too... I'm—"

"Anise?" I interrupted.

Anise immediately deflated. "Man, the colonel wasn't kidding. You really do know everything." She said it in such a whiny voice that I really wanted to knock her upside the head.

Too bad I don't have a frying pan...

I let a demented grin spread across my face, and Dark and Luke, recognizing it well, stepped away.

"Please don't murder us," Dark said, face straight. I started laughing, but it came out as more of a cackle... Well, that's pretty normal. My laugh usually comes out as a cackle.

"Oh, no. I'm just wondering how long it'll take the staff in the mess hall to notice a missing frying pan..."

Dark picked up the baby liger and retreated to the other side of the room, and Luke, to his credit, sat on the other side of the table where he could keep a wary eye on me. Tear obviously had no idea what to make of my threat, Mieu apparently thought I was going to eat him, and Anise and Ion were both giving me extremely worried looks.

"Are you completely sure you're okay?" Ion asked, tentatively reaching up to feel my forehead. The grin never left my face.

"Yup!"

Dark groaned. "I'm just glad she doesn't have a frying pan right now... Asch and Sync could probably write a horror story about her and that bloody thing..." he said. I frowned.

"Hey, I take very good care to wash any blood off of my frying pan before using it again."

Ion, Anise, and Tear very quickly retreated after that comment.

"Oh dear... What did I miss?"

I turned and giggled. "Oh, Dark and I were just talking about my frying pan," I said. "I need a replacement, by the way."

Jade's face would have looked completely impassive to anyone else, but I knew he was seriously resisting the urge to turn and bang his head off of something solid. "No," he ground out simply before turning to the others. "Now then, I didn't exactly come here because of my sister."

Another soldier had followed Jade in, and I vaguely recognized him as Marco. I wondered for a moment if it would be possible to save him when the God-Generals attacked.

Hell, I wasn't even sure who all would be attacking!

"The Seventh Fonon hyperresonance came from the direction of the capital of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and converged inside Malkuth territory near Tataroo Valley," Marco stated. Jade pushed his glasses a little further up his nose and forced down a smirk as he looked at Luke and Tear.

"Now, if you two were the source of that hyperresonance, that would make you guilty of illegally crossing the border into our country, wouldn't it?" he continued. Luke groaned.

"Jeez, you're obnoxious..."

I giggled. Well, at least Luke sounded a little less like a spoiled brat... even if he had kept up that line...

Anise laughed. "He called you obnoxious!"

Jade sighed, a little bit amused himself. "I'm terribly hurt," he lied. "But, moving on. Tear, you already told us you're with the Oracle Knights, and we've identified Dark as being Princess Natalia's bodyguard... Would you care to introduce yourself properly, Luke?"

"Even though I'm pretty sure everyone except Ion and Anise already knows? Gah, whatever," Luke grumbled. "Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre."

"And engaged to the princess."

"Shut up! I don't even like her!" Luke complained, this time at Dark, who had been the one to speak up. "I'll take Kairi over Natalia any day and Kairi scares the shit outta me!"

Jade and I exchanged a look before I busted up laughing, Jade unable to contain his for long either. I knew we'd had the same redhead cross our minds, and given the situation, we really couldn't be blamed.

"Humph. Fine, make fun of me!" Luke whined. I shook my head.

"No, we're not... you... I mean... it's just..." I kept trying to explain, only for my laughter to cut me off. Jade managed to compose himself and his eyes shone with amusement I hadn't seen since... Well, since Sync got stuck in the pile where I found my first frying pan.

"Sorry... Just don't ever let Asch hear you say that..." Jade said. Luke paled, having heard enough about the infamous 'Asch the Bloody' to know that I probably wouldn't be able to help him much if Asch was angry. "That having been said, I'm not sure exactly what to do with you three."

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the ladder on the bunk I'd woken up in as Luke grumbled. "Luke, listen up," I ordered. The redhead turned, and I sighed. "We can't just let you go, unfortunately. Jade wouldn't be out here with a relatively under-manned landship if he weren't on a mission. Top-secret would be my guess." Jade nodded in confirmation. "However, keeping civilians on board is a liability, especially civilians of an enemy country."

"To make matters worse, we're already headed for Kimlasca under orders from His Majesty, Peony the Ninth, Emperor of Malkuth. Not as an act of war, I can assure you, but given the circumstances of your coming here, we could easily be accused of kidnapping," Jade added. I bit my lip.

"And, in addition to that, I'm believed to be dead. My connections with your cousin won't do us a lot of good if they think I'm an imposter," I said. Luke's expression had been steadily going from annoyed to worried and depressed. I looked off to the side, as if thinking for a few moments. "Although..."

"What if we asked for their help?" Ion asked. I smiled.

"Nice to see I'm not the only one that hopped that train of thought." Ion gave me a confused look, and I rolled my eyes. "Moving right along..."

"For those of us who aren't telepathic, would you care to explain?" Dark asked.

I spotted the glance Jade shot at Dark, and then the one he gave me. I 'ignored' both of them in favor of turning to Luke. "Why don't you help us, Luke? Your position would make this mission a lot easier on us," I asked. And if you bring that up again I will bash your head in, Dark, I added, including Jade on the little threat. The bodyguard paled, though he managed to keep a neutral expression. Luke didn't look convinced, though.

"I see... I'll go ahead and release you three now. I'll grant you permission to enter any area you wish, apart from those containing military secrets. First, learn a little about us. Then if you feel you can trust us, we'd like to ask your help," Jade said. Asch's replica sighed.

"Why won't you just tell us what's going on?" Luke complained. Dark stepped out of the corner he'd been relaxing in.

"Because if he tells us and we don't cooperate, he'll have no choice but to hold us hostage in case we carry the information back to their enemies," he said bluntly. "Which is why he wants us to make up our minds first, although I've already made my choice."

I smiled. "Why don't you walk around for a little bit? We've got plenty of time, and even if you choose not to help, we're all going in the same direction anyway. We'll just have to drop you off before we can hit the border," I said, walking over to Jade and not-so-discreetly pulling my brother away.

Marco chuckled at the sight before turning to Luke and starting to talk again. I didn't hear what he said, but I could guess.

"Meow."

"Yes, Valkyria, I remember. We're on our way, don't worry."

"Unfortunately, I do worry. Especially when my little sister starts talking to a cat," Jade said, no longer being pulled along but walking next to me. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"The mess hall. I promised Valkyria I'd get her some milk as soon as we caught up to you," I admitted. "And given the fact that she's the only real company I've had for the last week... Yeah. Not going into that, thank you."

Jade flinched and looked away. "I'm so—"

"Don't."

Jade didn't look at me, keeping his eyes glued to the wall on his right, while I walked along on his left. I scowled, jumping in front of him and forcing him to stop or knock me over.

"It's not your fault," I said in a low voice. "You didn't know any better." I paused and let my head drop, holding back tears. "Neither did I."

Arms wrapped around me, pulling me into the chest of the man in front of me. "I wasn't apologizing for what Danté did to you," he said. "I'm sorry... Because I couldn't protect Sync."

My heart broke again. Selenia had said Sync never answered her letters, but that didn't mean anything. But this... This was the confirmation I'd been hoping not to receive.

"That still wasn't your fault," I said. "You didn't know he'd be attacked, too." I pulled away and looked up at Jade, and though his face was perfectly neutral, I could see every ounce of my heartbreak reflected in his crimson eyes. Sync didn't mean nearly as much to him, but he knew the green-haired boy was my best friend. He knew I was hurting, and while he'd long since given up trying to take care of Nephry, who no longer wanted or needed an older support, he was there for me.

"So, the mess hall?" Jade prompted awkwardly. Valkyria mewed in agreement, and I couldn't help but giggle a bit at the two of them.

"Yes. Milk for Valkyria... and probably a glass for me, too," I agreed. Jade nodded, keeping one arm around my shoulders and leading me off through the halls.

I noted the dull ache in my knee, keeping a very close tab on the pain. I'd have to sit down and see what I could do about reinforcing it again sometime. Maybe when the God-Generals attacked? I could always just get arrested with the others, and spend that time patching my knee together. That should definitely help...

When we reached the mess hall, I immediately took a look around. It was quite obvious where it had been patched back together after the incident with Barton and the Kimlascans, but... Wait a second...

"Levi?"

One of the soldiers at the bar turned at the sound of his name and grinned. "Well, hi there, Maes," the orange-haired man greeted me, using the alias I'd originally met him under teasingly. I turned to Jade and raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged.

"He was... Extremely helpful. Aslan decided to let him stick around," Jade said. Levi chuckled.

"Alex is the only other one who got off easy. Barton fed him the same crap he tried to feed your friends," Levi added. "So, what brings you back on board?"

I shrugged, hopping up into one of the seats. "This, that, the other... Same old, same old." Levi laughed, then became somber as Jade sat on my other side. I scowled, getting the feeling I knew what he was about to say, and the death glare I gave him managed to shut him up.

"Can I help you?" a soldier asked, stopping in front of me and Jade. Jade smiled and looked down at the floor.

"Two glasses of milk and a bowl of it for the impatient kitten trying to get onto a stool."

Levi snorted upon seeing that Jade spoke the truth.

"She fits right in..."

I elbowed him in the side.

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** First line of the chapter was actually pulled from a much later scene in the second version. Wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull it off in this version, so that line got moved._


	8. Chapter 1.8 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more after this...
> 
> Also, this was a chapter I forgot to find/replace the <> with *, so if it looks like someone's talking to Kairi but there's nothing there, it's probably a missed telepathy sentence.

_"So, how was Daath... Five-ish months ago?" –Kairi_

_"Is she bipolar?" –Anise_

* * *

"Oh, so this is where you guys wandered off to..."

Jade and I turned to see Luke, Tear, Anise, and Mieu walking in. Jade raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be with Ion, Anise?"

The girl in pink blushed and ducked her head. "Ah... Dark and I switched charges for a couple of hours... Ion wanted to talk to Dark, and I wanted to come with Luke, so it all worked out anyway," she said. I frowned, turning back away from them as I reached out for Dark's mind. I'd been keeping tabs on everyone in the back of my mind, so it took me little effort to find him.

*Poke?*

I heard Dark chuckling aloud through the connection.

"What's so funny?" Ion asked him. I got the impression of Dark shaking his head.

"Kairi. Thoughts of her pop up with about as much warning as she herself does."

*Thoughts... Very funny, Dark.*

*So you really don't want to tell them.*

*That was kinda the point.*

"It's getting dark... Maybe we should go find Luke and the others," Ion suggested.

*Mess hall,* I supplied.

"Kairi?"

"Huh?" Yes, very eloquent, I know. I'll admit it, I wasn't paying attention to the conversation Jade and the others were having.

"Let's head for the mess hall before all of the soldiers head in," I heard Dark say.

"Would you like to eat before the first group of soldiers?" Jade asked, apparently repeating his question. I blinked a few times before shaking my head and pulling away from Dark for a moment.

"I'm gonna give myself a headache doing that," I muttered. Jade sighed in exasperation, and I giggled. "I'll wait for Dark and Ion to join us. They're probably already heading in this direction," I added, stressing the word 'probably' as if it were supposed to be sarcastic. It was a tone Jade would recognize from when he'd asked me what Sync was doing once in the presence of Peony, who didn't know about my telepathy.

He blinked once, slow and deliberate enough for me to catch it without it alerting anyone else. "Why don't we move to a table, then?"

I nodded, hopping down and picking up the bowl Valkyria had licked clean, placing it back on the counter before wandering over to the end of the table that Asch, Sync and I had claimed while onboard. Once I was seated again, I poked at Dark's mind a second time.

*So what did Ion want to talk about?*

Dark didn't reply for a moment, and I could almost see him putting up walls around his mind, the way he retreated in on himself. *Sync.*

I took a deep breath. *I should have figured. He suspected Sync in the game, but never got a chance to confirm it until...* I trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

*He figured I'd met him, since I'm friends with you, and I know he's met Danté on... semi-friendly terms... He's good at putting pieces together,* Dark admitted. I smirked, the expression hidden by the fact that my head was laying in my arms.

*So was Sync,* I said. *Dark, I... I need to talk to you later... Alone... You're the only other one here who knows where... where I'm from...*

*Right... We're almost there. Don't give yourself a headache.*

I chuckled lightly at that one, pulling away and finally lifting my head, only for mine to collide with Tear's. "Oops, sorry!" I said quickly, rubbing the back of my head, where I'd hit it against hers. Tear smiled, awkwardly massaging her forehead, probably the unwilling victim of my lack of awareness of my surroundings.

"It's okay... But are you feeling alright?" she asked. Ah, so she'd probably been leaning over to see if I had a fever or something. I smiled.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," I told her. Luke's eyes widened.

"Still?! You were asleep for almost three hours!" I shrugged, and his eyes grew even wider at my nonchalance. "You act like that's completely normal!"

I sighed. "It is. Energies aren't as malleable as fonons, it takes a lot more to manipulate them properly, and even the slightest miscalculation can result in... well. Let's put it this way. I screwed up once and started a forest fire," I said. Jade adjusted his glasses as Luke gave him a confused look, and I rolled my eyes, wondering just what sarcastic remark my brother was going to come up with.

"Don't look at me. I'm a master of fonons, not Energies. Honestly, the most I can tell you is that there are as many Energies as fonons and that spirit Energies can't be replicated," he said, barely an ounce of sarcasm thrown in. I raised an eyebrow, then smirked.

"Well, guess what, oh Non-Master of Energies? You're using them every time you cast a fonic arte," I stated. Jade raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. "I ran into an old friend of mine, got to talking, and the two of us realized something. Fonons are really just mutated Energies."

"That having been said, you would think it would make it easier for you to use fonons," Dark threw in as he walked over. I cringed.

"Don't remind me..." I said. "I still have to deal with passive backlashes every once in a while, plus the ridiculous drain of attempting to learn new artes."

"Okay, I am completely lost," Luke stated loudly. I smiled and shook my head.

"I'll explain... Tomorrow. Morning. At a reasonable time," I said.

"When you say 'reasonable,'" Dark started. I laughed.

"Eight."

"Good."

"Grumpy?"

"Natalia's more of a morning person that he is."

"And she is...?"

"Asch at two-thirty in the morning."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Huh?"

Dark and I laughed at the utterly baffled looks on the faces of the people around us (with the exception of Jade, of course). Anise had been the one to speak up, having no clue whatsoever of whom we had been speaking. I grinned.

"So, how was Daath... Five-ish months ago?"

"Um... -ish?"

"Shut up, Dark," I grumbled. Anise blinked a few times.

"Uh... Well... Five months ago would have been... Oh!" she cried, apparently remembering. "The Grand Maestro was trying to catch an assassin and failed, Asch the Bloody fell into a coma for a week before disappearing with Sync the Tempest, then we got word that Asch and Sync both resigned, and... Wait a second..."

I snorted, trying and failing to hold back more laughter. "Did you forget the random stranger who showed up at the beginning and end of that week?" I asked. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think Van has more than a little bit of a grudge against me for dragging off two of his God-Generals."

Anise stared at me, open-mouthed, for at least two minutes before Ion leaned over and closed her mouth for a moment.

The action drew my attention toward Ion, and as it always seemed to do, Ion was replaced for a moment by Sync. The flash of worry I caught on Dark's face told me that my expression must have done a one-eighty.

I dropped my head back into my arms, clenching my fists.

"Kairi?" Ion asked softly, voice filled with worry.

'It's Ion, it's Ion, it's Ion,' I was chanting in my head. Damn it! I needed... I needed monsters. Targets. Something to slash, to shoot, to kill. Something to get my mind off of... this!

"Kairi..." Ion tried again.

"You're not helping, Ion," Dark said bluntly. "Sync is dead."

I heard the gasps around the table, picking out Luke's and Anise's, and barely hearing Tear's or Ion's. Ion's, which was so much like Sync's.

"What...? But..." Luke stumbled over his words. I didn't dare look up, but this close, even without actively connecting with his mind, I could feel the horror he was trying and failing to keep hidden from the others. "Asch...?" he asked slowly, reluctantly.

My fists tightened further as my mind returned to Van.

"Sync is gone. Asch thinks I'm dead too... That guy needs support from somewhere, and he won't accept it from Van anymore," I said, lifting my head again finally. "He's got a goal to work towards, but he's not as mentally stable as you'd think after spending time around the three of us. He's borderline suicidal. Once his mission is complete, there's nothing stopping him from attempting to join Sync."

"Kairi...!" Luke started.

I stood up, walking away from the table. "I won't let that happen. I'm not hungry right now. I'll come get something later," I said, not looking back.

I felt Dark following me at a distance, but didn't care. Everything was just crashing down on me, now.

My father's death. Sync's. Asch's suicidal tendencies.

I'd been aiming for the maintenance deck. I never made it that far, and ended up sitting out on that little platform you find Jade and Ion on around this point in the game, usually. My legs hung over the edge, tucked into two of the spaces between bars, head firmly planted against the bar separating them.

My dad was gone... I don't think it had really hit me yet. Just like it hadn't hit me until just before landing in Keterburg that he was dying.

I didn't care that Dark was standing behind me, hovering near the door awkwardly. I didn't care that there were soldiers walking past me to get their dinner.

I just broke down and cried. For my dad, for Sync, for Asch, for my mom, when she came into my mind. A bit of my crying was in pain, not sorrow. My body seemed to be on fire again. I guess I'd missed the last round of this.

Quiet footsteps reached my ears, but I'd drawn my mind in as completely as I could. And I just kept crying.

When the arm wrapped around me on my left, I thought it was Dark. I didn't bother to look up or even feel around to see if I was right.

When another hand took a spot on my left shoulder from someone on my right, I assumed that Jade had joined us. But it was the arms that wrapped around me from behind that made me start thinking again.

I finally let my mind uncoil, and realized that both of my initial guesses were wrong. It was Ion to my left and Luke to my right. Dark knelt behind me, holding me close, and another wave of tears pushed past me.

Koran. How could I have forgotten Koran?

I took a deep breath, forcing it to even out.

_"I~ hear your voice... on the wind... and I~ hear you call out my name... Listen my child, you say to me... I am the voice of your history. Be not afraid, come follow me. Answer my call and I'll set you... free!"_

"You know, you'd sound even better if you weren't crying."

I couldn't help it. Sobs suddenly turned into laughter at Tear's words. I felt out a little further. Jade was there, between Luke and Dark, and Anise and Tear were a little further out. I finally let the laughter and tears die down and started wiping my eyes.

"Asch told me the same thing, once," I said. "Outside St. Binah, before I met Jade the first time."

_"You know, you sound better when you aren't crying."_

_I gasped and turned to look at Asch. He paused a moment, walking over and sitting next to me. "What happened?"_

_I shook my head, turning my eyes back up toward the sky. I couldn't see a lot of stars because of the trees, but there was no doubt in my mind that they were there. So I closed my eyes, letting my memory and imagination take flight._

_"You're not going to tell me, are you?"_

_I let a small smile slip onto my face before reaching out with my mind and linking into his, effectively drawing him into my imagination. I heard the sharp intake of breath as Asch looked around._

_"Where are we?" he asked. I shrugged, already flat on my back in the grass in the false-vision._

_"I dunno. But I can see more stars here than where we really are."_

_Asch chuckled, following my lead and laying down nearby. It was quiet for a while as I picked out constellations I recognized. Orion, Cygnus, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Ursa Major and Minor... I smiled, while Asch sighed._

_"You know, I've never really done this before?" he said. I giggled and scooted closer to him before pointing at a bright star above our heads._

_"See that bright star, and the four going this way in a line?" I said, pointing them out. Asch nodded, and I grinned. "Alright, now see the smaller ones running this way in a line?"_

_"Huh... It looks like a cross..." he muttered. I giggled._

_"Or a bird with a long neck." I added, before pointing out more constellations, never once giving him the actual names for them. Asch joined in the 'game' after a while, and I had to admit, he did find a few that were real constellations._

I smiled at the memory. I'd fallen asleep after a while, effectively kicking both of us out of the imaginary field.

"Kairi?"

I giggled and gently pushed Dark away so I could get up and turn around. "I'm okay now," I said. Ion smiled, then gave me a hug.

"I'm sorry about Sync," he whispered. I returned his embrace for a moment before pulling away, still with a smile.

"He believed in me. I'm not going to let that belief prove to be misplaced," I said firmly. Jade adjusted his glasses, just the slightest smirk on his face.

"Then we can assume you'll be back to your usual psychotic self?" he teased. I laughed and nodded, then froze up for a moment.

"Aw, shoot! I've still got to get a replacement frying pan!"

Dark gave in and started laughing, while Luke groaned. I'm not sure if he was exasperated, concerned, or happy I was back to normal, but somehow he managed to get it all out in that one groan.

"Rather than bashing our heads in, why don't we go eat, hm?" Jade suggested. "Same direction either way."

I grinned, grabbing my older brother with one hand and Dark with the other. A yip let me know that he'd almost dropped the baby liger in his surprise, but I didn't exactly slow down, forcing the others to almost have to run to catch up.

"Is she bipolar?" I heard Anise ask as they caught up. Dark just laughed and turned his head to look at the girl.

"No, she just bounces back a lot faster than you'd expect," he replied.

"Meow."

I grinned. "You got that right, Valkyria!"

The kitten looked like she was rolling her eyes as she fell into step beside me.

Because I bounce back strong, too. ** __**

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Kairi did a lot more singing in the original version of A Ripple in the Abyss than she's done... basically in the entire rewritten trilogy. Well, more _on-screen _singing, I should say._


	9. Chapter 1.9 - A (False) Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I did it! BED!

_*Remind me to buy something sweet for him later.* –Kairi_

_“That can be arranged too.” –Flick_

* * *

 

“Small, localized conflicts have broken out recently. It’s likely those will soon escalate into full-scale war,” Jade said. I smirked.

“The truce for the Hod War is only 15 years old, after all,” I added sarcastically. Jade smirked, while Ion sighed.

“Emperor Peony has written a letter proposing a formal peace treaty. They requested my aid as a neutral ambassador,” he said. Luke frowned.

“If that’s the case, then why do people think you’ve gone missing? Master Van said he had to go looking for you!” he threw in. Ion cringed ever so slightly, while Jade sighed.

“That, unfortunately, is due to the conflicts unfolding within the Order of Lorelei between the reformist Fon Master faction, centered around Ion, and the conservative Grand Maestro faction, centered around Grand Maestro Mohs,” Jade said.

“Mohs is looking for a war. I managed to escape from his custody with the help of the Malkuth Military and one of the God-Generals,” Ion continued. I frowned, tapping against Jade’s mind. A mental image of Cantabile popped up.

“Why does that not surprise me?” Dark drawled from the corner. Tear looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Fon Master Ion, there must be some mistake. Grand Maestro Mohs would never desire such a thing. Mohs prays only for the fulfillment of the Score,” Van’s sister stated.

“Tear, you’re with the Grand Maestro faction? No way...” Anise said, sounding really upset. Tear shook her head.

“I’m neutral. Yulia’s Score is important, but so are the Fon Master’s wishes,” she argued. Dark snorted, and Tear looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you have a problem?” she asked, carefully forcing the irritation out of her voice. Dark scowled.

“I’m not sure whether I should thank the Grand Maestro the next time I see him or murder the bastard, okay? We’re not exactly friends,” he hissed. Luke crossed his arms.

“Does it really matter what’s going on inside the Order of Lorelei right now? You said earlier you’re trying to prevent a war from breaking out, right?” he asked, successfully diverting the conversation away from Mohs. I smiled.

*Remind me to buy something sweet for him later,* I told Jade. My brother’s expression softened a moment before he turned to Ion, who nodded gratefully toward the redhead.

“You’re right, Luke. I must deliver this letter to Kimlasca,” Ion said. I sighed.

“But, we’re talking about a landship loaded with the soldiers of an enemy nation. Even as emissaries of peace, it won’t be easy to get across the border,” I threw in. Jade nodded.

“If we delay, the Grand Maestro faction will catch up to us and interfere. That is why we need your help... Well, really we just need your social status,” Jade admitted. Luke huffed, and I bit my lip, really hoping Luke wouldn’t pull the crap he did in the game.

“You just need me to talk to my uncle, right?” he asked. I turned to Dark and smiled.

*Remind me to buy something sweet for you too,* I said. He gave me an exasperated look before rolling his eyes.

“You have my deepest gratitude. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to other matters,” Jade said. I watched as Marco left after him.

“Hmm... I’m going to get some air,” Ion decided. Dark glanced at Anise, who tilted her head toward the boy leaving.

Dark followed Ion out, the baby liger on his heels, and I narrowed my eyes before following him, Valkyria on mine. *Did I ever start telling you what the game events are?* I asked. Dark frowned.

*No. I take it you told Sync and Asch?* he asked. I nodded.

*We’re about to be attacked. Let Ion go, they need him alive. Help me find Levi and Marco,* I said. Dark glanced at me.

*You’re sure?*

I sighed. *I wish I wasn’t. Everything so far... It’s gone almost perfectly. I just hope it keeps going for a day or two, because if it doesn’t, we’ll all be dead,* I admitted. Dark watched Ion head up the stairs before nodding.

“Where to?”

I reached out. “Marco’s on the bridge. They won’t let you in still, but I’ll go get him. You go get Levi. He’s the guy with the orange hair that was in the mess hall with me and Jade last night. He’s... in the mess hall, again. Cleaning up after breakfast,” I said. Dark nodded, then growled something to the liger. “By the way, what’s her name?”

Dark smiled. “Sorylle. See you later?”

I sighed. “When they attack, head for the bridge via the maintenance deck. I’ll try to hold them off from the inside,” I said. “Don’t die!” I called before taking off at a run. I passed Jade as I went, but he was heading back toward the cabin. So, we really were running out of time.

Ion was up in the same place you find him after the first conversation in the cabin, but I ignored him, too, heading up the ladder and racing across the deck. The reason for my suddenly very hurried pace?

I glanced off to the side, spotting the mass of dark, fast-moving... well, I couldn’t actually see them yet, but I was sure they were griffins carrying ligers and soldiers.

“Miss Balfour!”

“Excuse me, pardon me, looking for someone!” I called, dodging around the soldiers that had been standing outside. It didn’t take me long to get to the bridge, where I heard the words I’d been hoping I’d arrive in time to hear just as the alarms went off.

“Bridge! What’s going on?” Jade’s voice echoed.

“A large flock of griffins 20 kilometers ahead! Total number unknown! Contact in approximately five minutes! Commander, requesting permission to open fire with all cannons,” Marco replied. Huh, so that’s who was on the other end.

“You’re a captain. The ship is yours,” Jade said.

“Understood, sir! Large swarm of monsters twenty kilometers ahead! All hands, battle stations! Repeat! All hands, battle stations!” Marco called. While this conversation was taking place, I pulled my sword, bow, and quiver out of my wing pack, tying the sword to my right hip automatically. “Miss Balfour! What are you doing here? Get back to the cabin!” Marco ordered. I scowled.

“Say that again in four minutes,” I hissed, strapping my quiver on and stringing my bow. I hesitated for a moment before drawing it experimentally, smiling as it moved smoothly, fluidly.

Then the ship shook, and I ended up dry-firing, the string snapping against my arm uncomfortably. I scowled.

“What happened?” Jade’s voice asked. Marco scowled, but I was the one to answer.

“Ligers are dropping from the griffins, clinging to the hull and attacking!” I said quickly, pulling out the arm guard I hadn’t used in months.

“Engineering is—“

“Move!” I yelled, pushing Marco out of the way as Largo’s scythe came down where he had been. The large God-General stared at me in shock.

“Kairi?! Bridge! Respond! Bridge!”

Largo’s scythe took out the pipe, and I scowled, tossing the bow into my right hand so I could reach for my sword. Behind Largo, Legretta and Arietta stepped in with a familiar... mask.

Flick smirked. “Largo, find the ship’s commander. Arietta, Ion,” she ordered. Then she turned to look up at Legretta. “I’ll deal with this.”

Legretta nodded before turning and leaving, Largo and Arietta doing the same. I frowned, while Flick’s smirk didn’t budge an inch.

“This is amusing. For someone who doesn’t ask a lot, you have a talent for making it go a long way,” she stated. Then one foot slid back into a defensive stance I recognized all too well. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to send you back to Danté.”

My hand clenched around the hilt of my sword and I drew it in a smooth motion that I’d really started to miss. “I’d rather burn in hell,” I stated. Flick laughed.

“That can be arranged too.”

Then she charged at me, and I realized that her fighting style really was _just like Sync’s_. I slashed at her, trying to force her away long enough for Marco and the others to finish off the rest of the small group of Oracle Knights that had followed her.

That was when I realized that she wasn’t wearing the outfit she’d been in before. No, she was wearing a uniform that looked eerily like Sync’s, except with a skirt and in purple. So, Flick would be taking Sync’s place in the antagonist lineup. Great. Where did that put Cantabile?

“Miss Balfour!”

“Secure the bridge, don’t let any more in!” I ordered, dancing around Flick. I was out of practice, that much was showing quite obviously in the way that she kept getting in too close for my sword.

“Yes, ma’am!” Marco saluted quickly, retreating from my fight with Flick and giving out more specific orders. It was becoming rather obvious that Flick was winning our little confrontation when Tear’s voice echoed through the bridge.

“ _Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryou Toue Zue~_ ”

Flick hit the ground a moment before I did... At least she didn’t land in a puddle of blood. Aw, crap.

*Jade!* I cried out telepathically before I lost consciousness.

I was shaken awake by Levi, and I blinked a few times as I forced the effects of Tear’s fonic hymn off. Tear looked a bit bashful.

“Sorry... We weren’t sure how many of you were still alive,” she said. I shrugged.

“I’m alive. Flick’s a bitch, but I’m alive,” I told her, looking around. Then my eyes widened. “Where’s Luke?”

“We left him outside to guard the door,” Tear said. I reached out with my mind, and took off running before anyone could say any more. Jade left Levi and Marco in charge while he raced after me, Dark and Tear on his heels and the two startled felines behind them.

“Luke!”

“Oomph!” the redhead grunted as I crashed into him, pushing him out of the way. Then my mind touched that of another redhead, and it was snagged.

*Kairi?!*

The hope, desperation, and horror that all flew along that connection would have knocked me off my feet if I hadn’t already been on the ground.

“You are turning into a pain in the neck,” Legretta announced, jumping down from where she’d been trying to snipe Luke and cutting the others off from the bridge. I scowled, feeling rage boiling through my veins when I saw the boy still sitting up top.

“Good,” I hissed. “Because I’ve finally hit the last straw.”

*Kairi...?*

*Give me a minute... Sheesh...*

I heard Asch chuckling on the other end, a sound of relief that I cherished.

Legretta scowled, drawing her guns and racing past Tear and Dark, the latter of whom tried to shoot her. I ducked and swerved, evading the blonde woman who was probably trying to seriously kill me.

Flick showed up then, distracting everyone except Dark as they tried to keep her from joining the assault against me.

So none of us realized that Legretta had gotten me right under where Zion was sitting, except for Asch, who was watching through my head.

*Behind you!*

I jumped to the side, rolling right to the edge and only barely avoiding Zion.

“Kairi!”

I scowled, noticing that I’d been separated from everyone else. “I’m thinking now would be a wonderful time for a strategic retreat...” I muttered.

*Just don’t die...*

I chuckled, earning a couple of worried looks from the people behind Legretta, Zion, and Flick. “See ya!”

I jumped, making use of a concept I’ve referred to as ‘game logic’ so that I could perform my little back-flip perfectly. Thankfully, the hull of the Tartarus was curved enough that I was able to slide along down it for a bit before jumping and rolling to soften the damage of the fall.

The landship sped on past me, and I raced into the nearby forest before Legretta or one of the others could order soldiers after me. Once hidden in the woods, I stripped my bow and quiver off and sat my sword against the trunk of a tree. Legretta would be sending soldiers after a girl wearing a black outfit. So I was going to head for St. Binah in blue.

The woman who walked out of the forest a few kilometers north of where I’d entered could have easily fooled any civilian into thinking she was exactly as she appeared—a major in the Malkuth military.

Of course, I knew my disguise wouldn’t work on many people who were actually in the military, but so long as it would get me to St. Binah safely, I didn’t care.

As it turned out, once I found the road, I was only a few hours away. The Tartarus had actually made it south of St. Binah, which meant the Oracle Knights had to turn it around to go back to Shurrey Hill. I noted the soldiers standing outside the gates and cringed.

“Need help?”

I turned and smirked. “Hey, Selenia. Running around outside again?” I asked. She nodded, then tilted her head to the side.

“Where’d you get the uniform?”

I laughed. “Emperor Peony. It’s a long story,” I said. Selenia smiled.

“Alright, then, Major! Let’s go!”

The thirteen-year-old skipped on ahead, and I followed, my expression becoming one of a woman exasperated with being stuck babysitting. It was rather obvious what Selenia’s plan was, after all. And when the Oracle Knights made her stop and explain, she did her part as the girl who had gotten lost, claiming that her father had sent me to retrieve her.

One of the men turned to look at me. “Name, ma’am?”

Remembering what Sync and Asch had taught me of identifying Oracle Knights by uniform, I frowned.

“Major Alice Kytes, Sergeant,” I announced. The soldier immediately straightened and saluted quickly. Even if we weren’t in the same military, I was a higher rank.

“My apologies, Major. You and your charge may pass.”

I nodded once, gently guiding Selenia past them and marching straight toward Military Headquarters. “Now you get to help me avoid getting too much grief from your father,” I warned her. She frowned, adjusting our course slightly.

“I’ll try, but what are you going to do?” she asked. I sighed.

“You’re about to find out,” I said, stepping into the room she had led me to.

“I understand,” Glenn was saying. Then he noticed me and Selenia. “Selenia? Major, what is the meaning of this?”

I spotted Anise about the same time she saw me, and her eyes widened. “Kairi?”

Glenn scowled, also recognizing me for who I was now. “Do I need to repeat myself?” he asked. I sighed.

“Did Anise already tell you the Tartarus was attacked?” I asked. He nodded, and I crossed my arms, noting the letter Anise had just given him. “Do you have another piece of paper? I’d like to write a letter for Jade while I explain.”

Glenn just nodded. _ ****_

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** So... I hadn't, in any way, planned for Kairi to ever actually wear that uniform Peony gave her again unless she was in Grand Chokmah getting dragged around by the man in question. It crops up twice in Re:AST before meeting a sad and messy death. -sigh-_


	10. Chapter 2.1 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, going to post a couple chapters and hope I'm not scrambling to get caught back up at the end of the month. (Yes, yes, I know. Holder of a Masters' Degree in Procrastination here. Still...)
> 
> Anyway, Chapter 2 is, if not the longest, then one of the longest chapters in A Spatial Tear. 19 parts long. You have been warned.

_“By the way... You owe me an explanation as to why the emperor gave Kairi a military uniform.” –Glenn_

_“Do you irritate people to the point of them wanting your head on platter on purpose, or does it just happen?” –Guy_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“Now what?” I asked, hopping out of the wagon we’d used to slip into St. Binah. Rose looked regretful.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you beyond this point,” she said. Jade nodded.

“That’s fine. We should head for the military headquarters,” he said. I felt something tugging on my pant leg and looked down.

“Meow?”

“Yes, Valkyria, we’re going to see if Kairi made it,” I said, feeling rather a bit more awkward than usual because I was talking to a cat rather than a liger. Especially since I couldn’t really understand her.

“Her scent’s here,” Sorylle piped up. I smiled.

“That’s good.”

“What’s good?” Luke asked. All eyes were on me now, it seemed, and I sighed.

“Sorylle said Kairi’s scent is still sticking. If she isn’t still here, she must have only left a few hours ago,” I translated. Jade nodded.

“Let’s go. Kairi likely would have sought out Glenn if she made it here, especially if she knew she was being pursued,” he said. He turned and started walking, and the rest of us fell into step behind him. It didn’t take us long at all to reach the headquarters, and the minute we entered, I raised an eyebrow.

Why was there a little girl sitting in here?

“Selenia? What are you doing here?” Jade asked, echoing my thoughts. The girl turned around, glancing around us, before her eyes locked on me. Or rather, on my chest.

“Ah, so you’re Dark.”

I tilted my head to the side, wondering what strange dream I’d walked into.

Selenia stood up and skipped over, tapping the exposed wooden pendant dangling from my neck proudly. “I carved four of these,” she said. “And I met the other two boys when Kairi handed them over. Which means you have to be Dark.”

I blinked a few times before everything started registering in my mind.

“Uh... Thanks, then,” I managed to get out. Selenia giggled, while her father sighed... Or groaned. I think it was supposed to be a groan but got turned into a sigh.

“Selenia, why don’t you go see if my wife needs any help?” the elderly man standing off to the side suggested. Selenia sighed.

“Alright, Grandpa. See you later, Jade!” she called over her shoulder, already skipping off. I blinked a few more times.

“Cheerful, isn’t she?” Glenn asked. I clenched my fists, suddenly realizing why the mental image I’d had of Selenia and the girl in front of me hadn’t matched up.

Selenia _was_ a cheerful girl... but not that cheerful.

“I really hope Kairi saves a piece of the bastard that killed Sync for me,” I said. Glenn chuckled.

“Get in line,” he said. Then he turned to Jade. “By the way... You owe me an explanation as to why the emperor gave Kairi a military uniform.”

I honestly wasn’t sure if Jade was going to laugh or start banging his head against the wall. “Well, I guess that’s one way to get around Legretta’s vague description...” he muttered. “Is she still here?”

Glenn shook his head. “No. She and a Fon Master Guardian were here for a time, but they left earlier. They left letters for you, though,” he said, handing over two envelopes. Jade opened the one from Anise before handing it to Luke with a smirk. He then opened the one from Kairi.

The ‘letter’ from Anise was pretty much just her confirming she was alive and that she was going to go on ahead to the next point. This was, of course, accented by constant comments about her ‘love’ for Luke. I growled a word that I won’t write down here.

“Dark, can you read Kairi’s runes?”

“Huh?”

Yes, I know I have all the eloquence of a rock. Shut up.

Jade handed Kairi’s letter over to me, and at first glance, it made me frown. Half of it was in the fonic alphabet, but the second half? I recognized the runes, because they’d been inscribed on the sword she had given Luke, but I could only barely read them. I recognized the four letters that started it though.

_Asch_

My eyes widened. “I’ll translate it later,” I said, realizing suddenly why Kairi had started chuckling when she was cornered. Jade nodded, though he looked a bit suspicious about the way I’d responded upon looking at the letter.

“You’re welcome to stay the night here. The Oracle Knights will have to leave before tomorrow morning,” Glenn said. Jade nodded.

“Thank you. I’ll take you up on that offer, but first... would you mind if I write a letter of my own?” he asked. Glenn blinked.

“To send to Kaitzur via carrying pigeon?” he guessed. Jade shook his head though.

“No, to send to one of the people that took over the Tartarus.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Everyone in the room turned, but I didn’t bother. I’d been the only other one awake at the time, after all. Jade smirked and adjusted his glasses.

“What happened to not being able to leave the Tartarus?” he teased. Cantabile shrugged.

“Ask your sister the next time you see her. One would think that finding out she’s alive would make Asch less cooperative,” she said. I raised an eyebrow, glancing behind me before looking back at Jade.

“Asch?”

Cantabile sighed. “Orders. We ended up bringing him with us,” she said. Then she frowned. “Tear? What are you doing here?”

Van’s younger sister coughed rather awkwardly. “Orders.”

I snorted. “I honestly don’t think you were under orders to get blasted to Tataroo Valley via hyperresonance, thanks.”

Cantabile patted me on the head. “I’m starting to see why Kairi likes you.”

I blinked. “Thanks... I guess...?”

Jade chuckled. “Take it as a compliment, Dark,” he said. I shrugged, then stuffed my hands in my pockets.

“Hey... You wanna tell me what was going on yesterday? Because I am pretty sure that Zion and Flick are not members of the Order of Lorelei,” I said, changing the subject. Cantabile sighed.

“Flick is, technically. She’s taken Sync’s place as head of the fifth division and Chief of Staff. As for Zion... He’s after Kairi. That’s all I know for sure... The others know I was close to her. They’ve been excluding me from a lot more than I’m certain I know about,” she admitted. Jade frowned.

“I know I saw Largo, Legretta, and Arietta. We’ve already mentioned Flick... Is Dist involved as well?” he asked. Cantabile nodded, while Tear crossed her arms, glancing at Luke.

“General... Is my brother the one who ordered the attack on the Tartarus?” Tear asked, and it was quite obvious she didn’t want to. Luke looked affronted, but I frowned, watching Cantabile’s expression.

The older woman sighed and shook her head. “I’m not sure. My orders are being passed down through Legretta,” she said, not looking happy about it. Luke crossed his arms.

“See? Just because the God-Generals are Master Van’s subordinates, it doesn’t mean he’s automatically to blame for this!”

I growled softly under my breath, and Luke went from whining to hiding... behind Tear. As if that would stop me. Cantabile chuckled, though it was a humorless sound.

“Van’s up to something, that’s for sure. He wouldn’t be working with Zion if he wasn’t. Oh, hey, while I’m thinking about it... Does someone have a piece of paper? Nephry made me stand around for half an hour to memorize something that makes absolutely no sense to me on the off chance that I ran into Asch or Dark, but I get the feeling Kairi would have an easier time translating it,” she said.

Glenn sighed, turning and pulling another piece of paper off of the nearby desk. “Here,” he said tiredly. I held back a smirk. So, Anise and Kairi had gotten the paper from him for their letters.

Cantabile took it and wrote something down, five lines. I frowned and glanced over her shoulder as she wrote.

_A replica of a mirror shows no light Beneath the shadow of the mountains white For the blood below Never ceases flow And one who was born without is now right_

“What the fuck?!”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Luke had just spoken for everyone in the room, and Cantabile’s smirk told me she agreed wholeheartedly.

“My thoughts exactly,” the God-General stated. “Nephry was very adamant though, so there it is, word for word.”

Jade frowned. “This... reminds me of...”

“Kairi’s riddle.”

I groaned. “How many more people are going to randomly walk in here?!” I grumbled. The man chuckled.

“Sorry...”

“You’re right, Ari. This is _exactly_ like the couplets Kairi left scattered around the Tartarus. Which means...” Jade said, trailing off. The man, whose name was apparently Ari, sighed.

“Don’t ask me to translate that.”

Jade chuckled. “I don’t blame you. It took me almost an hour to figure the first one out after I got the last piece. This one seems to be more complicated... I wasn’t aware my sister had any proficiency in riddles, though...”

Cantabile frowned. “That’s the thing... I saw the paper with the original riddle on it, and it was written both runes and the fonic alphabet. But I’m not sure Nephry knows runes,” she said. “And Kairi couldn’t have written it, because Nephry gave it to me after... after the kid died.”

I stared up at Cantabile, suddenly remembering what Kairi had told me about her.

_“She might as well be his mom. No one else bothered to raise him, after all.”_

I sighed, looking over the riddle again. Then I frowned. “We’re missing a piece.”

“What do you mean?” Jade asked. I crossed my arms.

“This... This riddle was written for Kairi’s eyes. A replica of a mirror... Damn. I know I’m missing something...”

“Um...”

I turned to Luke, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Spit it out. Even a stupid question can lead somewhere intelligent,” I ordered. Luke just shook his head.

“It’s not so much a question as... Well... You said Keterburg’s covered in snow year-round, right? And Sync died in Keterburg... There are mountains around there, too, right?” he rambled. I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Yeah, the second line’s probably referencing Mt. Roneal, but that’s relatively obvious,” I said. Luke frowned.

“Yeah, but... It’s the two short lines that are getting to me...”

Jade sighed, taking the note and folding it up before handing it to me. “Keep that with the letter, see if you can get those runes translated. We should head for the Inn. Ion’s tired and none of us are going to get anywhere with that riddle any time soon,” he decided. I nodded, and Cantabile sighed.

“Yeah, I’ve got to get back to the Tartarus before the others realize I’m gone. Take care of yourselves... And tell Kairi I said ‘hi’ when you see her, won’t you?” she said, already walking off.

Rather than watching her leave, I was more amused by the way Jade’s eyes were following her. “Don’t let them catch you,” he called. His even voice might not have betrayed much, but that glint in his eye told me all I needed to know.

Well, Jade, consider this revenge for your comment about Natalia earlier.

“And the great Necromancer is hopelessly in love... Does Kairi know about this?” I teased.

If it weren’t for the fact that the mental image of a pissed-off Duke Fabre frightens me more than a pissed off Jade, I’d have been on the receiving end of the most terrifying glare ever directed toward me right then.

“Do you irritate people to the point of them wanting your head on platter on purpose, or does it just happen?” Guy asked, nervously stepping further out of the way. I smirked.

“Only most of them. Mohs being one that hadn’t been intentional to start with, and Jade... well, I’m just going to say that he deserved it,” I said, folding the letter up and slipping it and the riddle into my coat. Jade scowled, knowing exactly what I was talking about, even as I turned and headed back out.

That riddle kept playing itself over in my head. I was starting to get this impression that only Kairi would know what Sync was going on about...

Sync!

I froze, not quite mid-step, and was bowled over for my efforts. Red hair let me know who hadn’t put on the brakes quite as fast as I had.

“You okay?” Guy asked, pulling me and Luke to our feet. I frowned, pulling out the riddle again.

“Yeah...”

“Breakthrough?” the blonde guessed as Jade, Ion, and Tear joined us finally. I shook my head.

“No... Just a thought. I’ll have to have Kairi confirm it, though, before I explain,” I said, putting the riddle back after staring at it for a moment. I looked perfectly calm on the outside, but my heart was racing.

Sync had known Kairi was alive? That was the only thing that could make the riddle make sense.

_“Nephry made me stand around for half an hour to memorize something that makes absolutely no sense to me on the off chance that I ran into Asch or Dark...”_

If Kairi were alive, Asch and I would definitely be the first two people she would look for... So, Sync gave the message to Nephry so that it would reach Kairi. But the message itself...

But, that still complicated things. Sync died before word reached even me, though I know Asch, Sync, and Nephry had been the first to find out.

Wait a second...

_“So, your real body is in a completely different world?”_

“Dark? Are you okay? You’re looking paler than usual,” Guy observed, snapping me out of my thoughts for a moment. I took a deep breath.

“Yeah... I just have a _lot_ of questions for Kairi all of a sudden,” I said. I spent the next ten minutes trying to organize the mess in my head while Jade arranged our rooms. I was put with Ion, while Luke shared with Guy and Tear was left with Jade. Of course, Mieu went with Luke while Sorylle and Valkyria, the poor kitten, ended up following me.

Once Ion and I were sitting on the beds in our room, Sorylle and Valkyria curled up at the foot of mine quite comfortably, Ion spoke.

“What was Sync like?”

I bit my lip. “I... honestly don’t really know,” I admitted. “I didn’t spend as much time with him as Asch and Kairi did, but... He was clever, and determined, and... he was a little brother to Kairi.”

Ion frowned. “He was right there for so long... I’m regretting not getting the chance to really meet him, now.”

“Don’t,” I said. “Sync had a lot of negative opinions on things, despite Kairi trying to change that in him, and I know one thing he held onto was his scorn for the position of Fon Master.”

I opened up the letter I’d been messing with then, wondering what else Kairi would confuse me with before I got to sleep.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The riddle above was re-written at least six times before I came up with the final version... Eek. Even the Tartarus emergency riddle didn’t take that long, with only three revisions._


	11. Chapter 2.2 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, my formatting may or may not be iffy in a few areas. Apparently I did a better job of getting everything formatted for FF.net when posting Re:AST than I did for Re:ARitA.

_Anyone who had no idea what was going on would have thought I was the villain and he was the hero. –Kairi_

* * *

I scowled, drawing in more Energies than I really needed, if I was being honest with myself. It would be wonderful if my knee would just stay patched up...

Wait a second...

I took a deep breath, drawing in earth Energies and settling them over top of the Energies I’d already unleashed in my knee. I almost grinned when I felt more than saw them reinforcing what I’d done.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ride on Tokunaga?” Anise asked for what had to be the eighth time. I groaned.

“Ask me that again, Anise, and you’ll find out why Asch and Sync stop repeating questions after the second time,” I grumbled, standing up carefully and testing my knee. I nodded to myself, then reluctantly put the knee brace back on. I hated to admit it, but it helped. A lot.

Before Anise could speak again, I had taken off running. This was becoming rather normal, now. I’d run for an hour or so and lose her, then be forced to stop so I could patch my knee up, which would allow her to catch up. Maybe this time I could stay ahead. I wanted to confront Van about something... on my own.

I couldn’t help but grin when I realized that not only was my stamina slowly picking back up from where weeks of imprisonment had crushed it, my knee still wasn’t hurting again. Yet, at least.

Carefully keeping tabs on the fire in my body and the amount of time that had elapsed, I couldn’t help but grin. My impromptu support had worked!

I was just outside Kaitzur, almost four days after the attack on the Tartarus and at least an hour ahead of Anise, when I spotted him. I slowed, catching my breath while keeping him within my sight. Once I was sure I was ready, I stepped out of the trees I’d been hiding in.

“Van!”

The man froze, turning around as if he’d seen a ghost. Or heard one, at least. And the moment his eyes locked on mine, I knew.

I frowned, walking forward. “So, Zion didn’t tell you.”

Van took a deep breath. “He said you had been taken care of,” he stated. I smirked.

“I didn’t appreciate being kidnapped, nor do I like correcting everyone who thought I was dead. It’s very... inconvenient,” I said.

The two of us stood there, and to any stranger, it must have looked like some bad romance, what with the sun setting off to the side and the way Van couldn’t seem to regain his mental footing. So, while he was still rather disoriented, I crossed my arms.

“Where is he?”

Van blinked, then glared. “Asch is no longer any of your concern,” he said. I shook my head, smirk never once shifting.

“Not Asch. I know where he was four days ago, and there are two places he could be now. He’s either still locked on the Tartarus, in which case he’ll be waiting for me to come back and get him out, or he’s with my brother and his replica, making his way toward us right now,” I said. Van looked distinctly unsettled by the level of certainty in my voice.

“Then I suggest asking your sister where she put his grave,” he said, trying to pick himself back up. I sighed, pretending to be annoyed with where this was going.

“Oh, don’t worry. I have every intention of visiting Sync’s grave. I owe him an apology, as well as Zion’s head on a stake. And I know where _that_ bastard is, too,” I said, my voice gaining a harsh undertone. I uncrossed my arms and settled into a slightly more aggressive stance. Almost three weeks should have gotten me something, but now I had only one choice. “No. What I want to know... is where you’ve put Reighn Aurelius.”

The way Van flinched spoke volumes, and I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, you _didn’t_ ,” I said, letting myself sound excited at the end. I laughed, and Van just looked more uncomfortable. Anyone who had no idea what was going on would have thought I was the villain and he was the hero. “He left! He knew what you were doing was wrong and he left!”

Van’s discomfort melted into anger. “No thanks to you!” he snapped, drawing his sword. I wasn’t sure whether to run or outright grin. And yes, I know I’m a little (a lot) mentally unstable. “You’re the reason for every wrench that’s been thrown in my plans in the last five months!”

I was suddenly very glad that I’d had the foresight to strap on both of my weapons that morning, because Van was now charging right for me. I met him almost in the middle with a Guardian Field, successfully catching him off guard.

“So, Asch has taught you strike artes,” Van stated coldly. I retreated a few yards, already collecting up fonons. The good thing about using Energies to do that is that I can collect up fonons in one spot, then bounce back over to them and use them all at once to speed-cast. I’d left the spot where Van was currently standing, and just as I’d hoped, he ran at me again. I shot off to my right, not wanting to get too close.

“I’m starting to think you might have been better off with the bow,” Van commented. I smirked, now standing on top of my little hotspot.

“Whatever... O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!”

Van looked utterly shocked by how quickly I’d cast the arte, and the fact that the flames were blue probably didn’t help. I was already rushing forward while Van tried to recover from the high-leveled arte. I wasn’t planning on letting up on him any time soon, but he was right about one thing. I would have been better served with the bow.

Van struck out with the handle of his sword, and I shot my right hand out, letting the momentum push me back and then rolling off to the side where Van couldn’t hit me as quickly. Then I got to my feet and dashed off, making a run around him while leaving a mass of sun Energies along my path.

“I’m getting the feeling that switching for the bow right now isn’t going to be much help,” Van said as I slipped my sword back into its sheath. I almost freaked out when I saw how close he was, but months of training with Sync had me ducking and reaching out with a fonon-powered, life-stealing palm strike.

“Reaper’s Toll!”

It wasn’t until after I’d slipped away, courtesy of Van being startled yet again, that I realized I hadn’t used Energies to force the fonons into cooperating.

I stopped in my bubble of fonons again and started casting, trying not to let that thought overtake my mind. “O frigid blades, pour forth!” Van cursed, attempting to get out of the way. “Icicle Rain!”

Unfortunately, I was still in speed-cast mode, so the arte landed... well, mostly on top of him. Then I took a second to reach out, and I gasped.

Fonons! I could actually feel them now, touch them... control them!

“Son-of-a—!”

I ducked, unleashing another Reaper’s Toll and racing away to pull my bow and a set of arrows out. Then I turned, firing an arrow before I had even stopped running.

Van batted the first one away, dodged the second, but took the third to the hand. Not exactly where I was aiming, but oh well.

I’ll admit it right now. I was reaching further out of my league with Van than I had the first time I fought Asch. And that fight my life hadn’t been on the line, since we were on the second plane. This fight... This one was so much different. I was more skilled, but so was my opponent. I had something to fight for, but so did Van. So there was nothing left to do.

We kept this up for a few minutes, me racing around and firing my arrows, while Van chased me around, the longer blade of his sword giving him an edge that Asch didn’t have. I was covered in cuts, Van was bleeding from a dozen little holes my arrows had put in him.

I jumped back a few times and glanced around. I could run, I knew I could, but my knee was starting to hurt again. How long would it be before Van caught up to me?

My knee decided the battle for me when I tried to run, buckling and shooting fire and needles up my leg. I might have cried out, I don’t know. I just remember hitting the ground, again.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

_I wasn’t in any hurry. I’m not sure what there was to hurry about, actually. My memories were fuzzy, not really there. I was wandering around rather pointlessly. I had nowhere I needed to go, nothing I needed to do... That I was aware of, at least. Nothing seemed to stay in my mind for long. Odd. It reminded me of... hmm... something. Akzeriuth? Was that it?_

_I shrugged it off and sat down. I was surrounded by waving grass and the night sky, nothing else, it seemed. It felt somewhat like a dream, where there was nothing to be done, no danger, nothing but the grassy plains and the night sky._

_The empty black sky..._

_As if listening to my thoughts, the heavens erupted, millions of stars stretching as far as I could see. I smiled, seeing each star as if it were so much closer, as if I could simply reach up into the heavens and pluck one of the sparkling lights out of the sky. I flopped down onto my back, slipping my arms under my head comfortably and just laying there, wondering idly if I’d ever had a dream like this before._

_I watched the night sky above me and couldn’t help but relax, taking in the familiar sights of Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila above my head. I saw someone walking toward me from my right, even as I closed my eyes._

_The person laid down next to me in the grass, the rustling seeming somewhat muted. I wondered if this was a memory, rather than a dream, from one of the times I had meditated under the leaves of the forest in an attempt at falling asleep. So, it was either Asch or Sync whose breath now augmented the light breeze dancing in the grass._

_Probably Sync, I thought to myself. Asch only joined me once every five or so times I did this, while Sync took up my silent invitation two out of five, three after he had found out where I was really from. It was fun, telling him all the things I had learned in Astronomy. I’d point out a new constellation once in a while, if my subconscious decided to show us a different part of the sky, but it was usually the late summer/early autumn night that surrounded us._

_That was fine by me. I always did love seeing Cygnus. It would make me think of the story of Swan Lake. I’d told that to Asch once, but Sync had already fallen asleep by then._

_Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I had fallen asleep before I could finish._

_I smiled a bit and started talking, telling the story just as I remembered it. I was never once interrupted, and it made me wonder if I was just talking to thin air. Maybe the person I’d seen was just a trick of my mind? I would think, if it was in fact Sync next to me, that he would be asking me countless questions. Probably starting with ‘what brought this on?’_

_So, Asch? No, he’d have said something about hearing this before already. Odd, I didn’t think I’d ever brought someone else here... So, probably a dream, since it didn’t seem to be a memory. But, who could it be? Dark?_

_No, he’d be scoffing at the idea of unicorns and fairies._

_Only one person I knew would be this quiet while I was telling this particular story._

_Reighn. But that made even less sense. I’d never brought him here before, nor did he know about my past. Which left me once again wondering just who was next to me._

_I was just finishing the tale when my companion finally spoke up, revealing his identity._

_“I fell asleep when you started telling that story last time.”_

_I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Don’t feel bad. I fell asleep somewhere in the middle... Around the time Odette was learning to dance. If I made it any further than that, I don’t remember,” I admitted. “I missed you, Sync.”_

_Sync chuckled. “It was barely a month. I survived a year without you and Asch before, remember?”_

_“Only because of Cantabile.”_

_Sync and I laughed._

_Then, after a few minutes..._

_“We’ll be together for a long time, right?”_

_I smiled. “I hope so. I didn’t go to the trouble of digging you out of that snow bank because I wanted you to die,” I replied sarcastically. Sync didn’t reply right away._

_“I’m sorry.”_

_I opened my eyes, blinking a few times before turning my head to look at the fourteen-year-old. “What for?”_

_Sync shrugged. “Where are we, by the way?”_

_I frowned at his abrupt change of subject before sitting up and looking around. It took me a moment to realize exactly where we were, since this place looked almost identical to the dreamscape I’d created outside St. Binah. “The third plane...”_

_“There’s a third?”_

_I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Yeah... The first plane belongs to the body, the second to the soul, the third to the mind. It’s supposed to be impossible to reach the third without...” I trailed off, my smile fading._

_“Without?” Sync prompted me. And suddenly I realized this was neither a memory, nor a dream, because in no dream would Sync have asked me to complete that sentence, and I knew I had never spoken of the third plane with him before._

_I laid back down, pretending to be completely relaxed. “I wonder if I could reach Asch from here...” I mumbled. Sync hummed._

_“Maybe you can. You found me, after all,” he said. I couldn’t help it, I smiled a bit at his innocence._

_“I don’t think it works like that,” I admitted. “Asch has one thing we don’t anymore.”_

_Sync rolled over to look at me. “What’s that?”_

_I closed my eyes, refusing to let the tears fall. “Life.”_

_“Life?”_

_I shouldn’t have expected the tears to stay put. They hadn’t after my father’s death, they hadn’t after I’d learned of Sync’s death, so I guess I shouldn’t have asked that of them after my own._

_“Yes... At least... He’s still alive.”_

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Kairi’s had access to the third plane this whole time. She has, however, forgotten it, as the last time she was actively using it was when she was about five, and... I don’t know how well you guys remember being five, but as I’m currently twenty-three and Kairi in this chapter is eighteen... Yeah, we don’t remember five very well._


	12. Chapter 2.3 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... Hi. Yeah. I'm terrible at this 'regular updates' thing.

_“Since when have you ever followed orders?!” -Asch_

* * *

“I don’t know, you tell me! I tell Danté not to kill her, she gets an infection in the knee he shot through that Star can’t heal. I tell _you_ not to kill her, you bash her head in! I need her alive, dammit!”

I cringed and groaned.

“Look, she’s alive, she’s obviously waking up...” another voice grumbled. I growled something, I’m not sure what. All I knew, was that my head felt like someone had decided to use it as target practice for a bunch of flaming arrows... Huh?

“I need her in one piece! She can’t do anything if she’s a vegetable!” the first voice continued ranting.

“Hey, if you don’t want me for something important, I really suggest letting me leave,” a third voice interrupted. This one was... feminine? Yes, that’s the word I wanted.

“Sorry, Star. Can you check her again, since I think she’s waking up?” the first voice said a bit... sheepishly? Why are words so... hard... all of a sudden?

“Hey, can you open your eyes yet?” the... girl... asked. It took me a few minutes, but I did finally figure out how to do that.

And immediately wished I hadn’t. “Whoops. Zion, cut the lights,” the girl ordered. The red bleeding through my... eyelids... dulled to black, and I dared to open my eyes again.

It was much easier to see now, though I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. “Uh...”

“Hi. Remember me?” the girl asked. I blinked. Remember? Remember what?

Then I shot up, banging heads with the girl unintentionally and just making my headache worse. “Ow!”

“Oof! Hey, you shouldn’t be sitting up yet! You’ve got a really bad concussion!” the girl said. I paused and looked up at her.

“Uh... This sounds really stupid, even to me, but... What’s a concussion?”

One of the other dark forms in the room moved, and I heard someone groan. “You have got to be fucking kidding me...” the first voice grumbled. I frowned.

“Well sorry if I’m having lots of trouble with words,” I grumbled, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Hey! Bigger words! Yes!

“Nice to see your personality is still intact,” the girl said, almost as sarcastically. Then she frowned, looking worried. “What’s my name?”

I blinked. “Uh, you’d think you’d know your own name... Uh... Oh, I really hope you didn’t mean that, because I don’t know...”

The girl sighed. “How about his name?” she asked, pointing to the taller of the other two. I squinted a bit and the figure stepped into the lighter part of the room. My eyes searched up and down the gray outfit, ash-brown hair, and blue eyes, but nothing came to mind.

“No clue.”

The girl looked a bit worried now. “Him?” she asked, pointing over her shoulder at the shorter of the males. This one was wearing black, had green hair, and green eyes. I felt like I should know him, but...

“Midori?” I asked sarcastically. The boy raised an eyebrow, and I sighed. “It means ‘green’... though I can’t remember where I learned that...”

The shorter boy looked worried now as well. “Can you remember _anything_?” he asked. I frowned, trying to think about that.

Except, nothing was coming up. Not past the massive headache I felt, at least. I shook my head, knowing somehow that this lack of ability to come up with any memories was not a good thing. In fact...

“What’s my name?”

The shorter boy grabbed both of his companions and towed them out of the room, and I blinked. Why had they just run off like that? It wasn’t like I was going to hurt them... was I?

The shorter of the males walked in then, shaking his head and looking very, very... grr, what’s the word? Irritated! That’s it!

“I would appreciate if you would please stop pissing my ally off on purpose,” the boy said. “That having been said, he’s going to go get you a uniform to replace the one you trashed with your little stunt.”

I blinked. “What?”

He sighed, now just looking tired. “Van was just trying to knock you out, he didn’t mean to give you a concussion, which, if you still can’t remember, is a brain injury. You seem to have completely lost your memories, so I’ll fill you in on the important stuff, since we really should get going,” he said.

“Your name, since you can’t seem to remember that either, is Mirage Zephyr. You’re a Major serving under Grand Maestro Mohs in the Intelligence Division of the Order of Lorelei, fourth platoon. Your last mission was undercover as a woman named Kairi Balfour. You pulled out of the mission believing it to be in the hands of the God-Generals while attempting to maintain your cover, and the little stunt you pulled ruined what you had been wearing so you switched into your uniform. Unfortunately, that got trashed too between you ditching the Tartarus and running into Van. Remembering any of this yet?”

I frowned, thinking it over. “The name Kairi Balfour sounds familiar... In fact, most of that sounds familiar, but... I can’t actually remember any of it,” I admitted. The boy sighed.

“In that case, my name is Zion. The older guy who was in here earlier was Van, who you seem to like pissing off, and it would be wonderful if you’d stop for a bit. The girl was my partner, Star,” he explained. I nodded. Those names seemed to fit.

Then the girl, Star, walked back in with what appeared to be a sky blue and maroon bundle. “Here. This should fit you,” she said. I frowned, picking the bundle apart for a moment as she and Zion left. Then I sighed and slipped out of the bed, pulling the simple white nightgown I was wearing off so I could change.

The uniform didn’t feel that familiar, but I figured, if Zion was right, I’d probably been undercover for a long time. Still, something didn’t quite sit right with me as I pulled a sky-blue, sleeveless, thigh-length, turtleneck dress on. There was a split up the left side in front, outlined in maroon and shaped like an upside-down tuning fork.

I was just pulling on my boots when Van walked back in with another woman. Oddly, this one seemed very... familiar.

“Mirage, this is Cantabile. She’ll take you back to the Tartarus to be briefed by Legretta,” Van stated. I frowned, grabbing the maroon coat that I still hadn’t bothered with putting on.

“Sure, whatever.”

Cantabile looked like she wasn’t sure whether to smirk or scream. I wasn’t sure why, but it almost made me want to hug her... even though she didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of person to enjoy being hugged.

“Let’s go,” she said, her voice colder than I think she meant it to be. I shrugged the coat on and grabbed the detached sleeves, following her out of the room. I noted quietly that Van didn’t follow us. I’m not sure why that bothered me, but it did.

“So, you don’t remember anything.”

I stared at Cantabile for a moment. Small talk? I really, really didn’t expect that, given the almost-glares she’s been sending me. “Nope. Not a single... well, that’s not true.”

“What is it?” she prompted. I frowned. Should I tell her? I get the impression that it won’t end well, even if I’m not sure why. Oh well. Won’t learn anything if I don’t ask questions.

“Who’s Sync?”

Cantabile stumbled, practically running into a wall as her gold... eye? Huh, she’s wearing an eyepatch... as her eye sought me out. “You remember... _him_?” she asked. I frowned, not sure why the way she asked that bothered me.

“Just his name, and... flashes of green. And stars. I remember we were talking, and I was looking at the stars...” I said. “I don’t remember what it was about. It’s just... it’s the only thing that’s there.”

The older woman took a few minutes to catch her breath. Honestly, it looked almost like she was about to cry. “Thank you.”

I blinked. “Huh? For what?”

Cantabile looked up at me and smiled, and that urge to hug her came back. “For telling me...”

I finally gave in and hugged the poor woman. Sync must have meant something to her. She stiffened in my grip before I pulled away, finally pulling on the sleeves a bit awkwardly. “I’m sorry. It just... felt right.”

Cantabile sighed and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Come on, we have to get to the Tartarus before Jade and the others reach Kaitzur,” she said, turning and moving to leave. I followed her, almost reluctant now.

I’m not sure why, but I felt like Cantabile was leading me into the proverbial lion’s den. And maybe she was. But the memories that would have answered that question lay hidden someplace I couldn’t reach them.

We stepped out of what appeared to be an inn and I followed the older woman as she headed... north. It took me a moment to figure out which direction was which. We disappeared into the tree line after only a few minutes, but I paused and slipped behind a tree to glance out at the road.

“See? I told you they were catching up.”

I frowned. “I don’t think one little girl validates the use of the word ‘they,’” I said. Cantabile shrugged.

“She’s only a day or so ahead of the rest of the group. They’ll catch up with her before she can get across the border, since we know for sure she’s left her passport on the Tartarus,” she told me. “We were headed for the Tartarus, remember?”

I nodded once and turned to continue following her.

The whole time, my mind was racing. The girl had seemed familiar. Dark pigtails, a pink dress, and a white tabard? I knew her. I knew that girl, but where...?

“Who was she?”

Cantabile seemed to stumble again, and she hesitated before answering. “Anise Tatlin. She’s an Oracle Knight assigned to the Fon Master as his guard.”

This information sat well enough with me, so we continued on in silence. At least, until we reached a landship sitting in the middle of nowhere. Well, that’s not quite true. It wasn’t the middle of nowhere. But it did seem odd for it to be there. I frowned. “This is... the Tartarus?” I asked. Cantabile nodded.

“Do you remember it? You’ve been on board multiple times,” she said. I shrugged. I didn’t really remember it, but it felt familiar, so I figured it was probably because of that.

Cantabile led me up the ramp and onto the landship, and once inside, I couldn’t help but feel... more on-edge than usual. As if I was expecting something bad to happen. Maybe I just had a bad record with this landship? Zion did say I had ditched the Tartarus on my last mission.

“Major Zephyr.”

I automatically turned toward the new voice and snapped to attention. The woman standing in front of me had a rather emotionless face, but somehow, I got the feeling I had impressed her.

“This is Legretta,” Cantabile said. “I’ll hand her over to you,” she added, this time addressing the other woman. Legretta nodded and she left, before giving me another glance and then turning to leave.

“Come with me,” she said, although it wasn’t really necessary. I was already following her.

Legretta led me through the halls of the landship until she stopped outside a door and turned to look at me. “I understand that you seem to be having memory difficulties, so I’ll make this as simple as possible for you. The boy in this cell believes Kairi Balfour to be his friend and he’s done nothing but cause trouble for us since you attempted to fake her death. Obviously, that failed, and his behavior has only gotten worse since then,” she stated. “We need him under control. Pretend you still care if you have to, or tell him it was all an act. I don’t especially care, so long as it ends with Asch loyal to us and not the memory of a girl who never really existed.”

I nodded, even though my heart seemed to have frozen over. “Understood, ma’am.”

Legretta unlocked the cell door and let me in, and I started to understand why they seemed so worried.

The boy in question, Asch, if I had heard correctly, was trying to get a metal cuff off of his arm. And I knew, somehow, that if he kept up what he was doing, he’d end up dislocating his thumb in the process.

“That’s rather pointless.”

The redhead froze.

“Who are you?”

I tilted my head to the side. He hadn’t turned around. In fact, he seemed to be forcing himself not to look. Why?

“Major Mirage Zephyr, fourth platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division,” I recited. It almost felt right, but something was off.

Asch sighed, as if in relief, and turned to look at me. At which point, his eyes went wide, and he shook his head for a few moments before turning back around and sitting down on the opposite side of the wooden pillar in the middle.

“Go away.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m under orders.”

Asch spun around, his green eyes, so filled with denial before, now radiating an utter rage that struck a familiar chord in my mind.

_A confused blonde teenage girl glanced back and forth between me and a slightly younger, black-haired male._

_“Is Asch’s temper really that bad?”_

“Since when have you ever followed orders?!” he screamed.

I smirked. “I haven’t.”

Then the smirk turned into a frown. Why had I said that?

Asch had gone back to looking like he had seen a ghost. “What happened to you?” he asked. I shrugged.

“I stopped pretending,” I said. But Asch shook his head.

“No...” he said. “You... Your Energies aren’t right.”

Energies?

I blinked a few times, then shook my head. “I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Asch frowned and sat down, leaning back against the pillar and closing his eyes as if to take a nap. I was wondering what he was doing when I felt something... prodding me. From the inside. Like... like there was something under my skin, trying to break out. I’m not sure how, but I pushed back, and there was a pause before whatever it was started prodding again.

This time, I pushed back harder, only to find myself staring at a transparent Asch. I blinked a few times, and Asch scowled.

*Quit pushing. I think I’ve figured out what’s wrong,* he told me. Except, his voice was in my head. It seemed familiar, his voice being in my head, but it was weird anyway.

The transparent Asch raised his hands, one hovering over each of my temples, and I felt something snap before it all went black.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Microsoft Word suddenly thought ‘Chapter’ was misspelled French..._


	13. Chapter 2.4 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I should be up to 2.6, I will post up through 2.6.

_“Cursing at someone isn’t always this productive.” –Kairi_

_“_ Now _you tell me.” –Cantabile_

_“Not you, butthead. The woman from the Intelligence Division.” –Arietta_

* * *

“Oh, shit... Wake up, wake up... Come on, Kairi! Legretta’s on her way back, if she catches you like this... dammit!”

“Cursing at someone isn’t always this productive,” I informed the panicking redhead. Asch sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank Lorelei... You can tell Legretta I’ll cooperate if you promise not to do that to me again...”

I sat up and looked around, my memory back to normal, with the exception of... No, that was a dream. Sync was dead. And... Oh, great. I’d had amnesia... Fuck!

I jumped to my feet as quietly as I could, hearing the heels clacking against the wooden floor outside. Good thing I did, because Legretta walked in not a moment later. Asch was sitting cross-legged on the floor on the other side of the bars, and he looked... defeated.

“I take it you two had an interesting talk?” Legretta stated more than asked. Asch stood, head hanging slightly.

“Van wants my hyperresonance. He has it.”

If I hadn’t just heard my best friend cursing at me to wake up, I’d have thought Asch really _was_ giving in to Van.

Legretta looked as impressed as she had earlier (ergo, not very), and she turned to me. “You can find your way back up to the deck from here, can’t you? Go warn Cantabile that she’ll be sharing a cabin with Asch,” she ordered. Clicking my heels together and saluting like a good little soldier, I turned and left.

*Your acting skills are really improving,* I commented along the way. Legretta was warning Asch that any ‘mishaps’ would result in his immediate imprisonment again.

*With people like you and Sync around, can you really blame me for picking some things up?* he asked. I smirked, reaching the deck and glancing around to try to find Cantabile. The purple-haired woman was leaning up against the railing, so I wandered over to her, brain whirling a mile a minute.

“When wakes the blue flame of angel’s embrace, the fire’s laugh will happily make chase.”

*It always amazes me how little time it takes you to come up with a rhyme,* Asch commented, now following Legretta out of the cell. I resisted the urge to smirk again as Cantabile turned to look at me oddly.

*You just did it yourself,* I pointed out. Then I tilted my head to the side. “Is something wrong?” I asked. Cantabile blinked a few times.

“The cat has sought but yet will not have found the light that hides within the secret ground.”

I couldn’t help but stare back, and it was no wonder. That was a couplet Sync had come up with when I taught him the fine (and confusing) art of riddle-making. I had then come up with three sets of couplets to answer it, one for myself, one for Sync, and one for Asch.

“The sea has failed to drown the blue flame’s light. Nay earth nor wind will block the fire’s sight,” I recited, almost breathless. Cantabile smirked before turning back around to lean over the railing again.

“I thought I’d lost you for a while there,” she said. I shrugged.

“By the way, you get to share with Asch.”

She groaned. “ _Now_ you tell me.”

I smirked, putting my weight against the railing so I was facing the opposite direction as Cantabile. “And you did, for a bit. Remind me not to let Van bash my head in again,” I added, just as Legretta and Asch came up on deck. Cantabile scowled.

“Want me to hold him down while you return the favor?” she asked. I didn’t reply immediately, as Legretta was walking toward us.

“I’m under orders to avoid antagonizing him for a while,” I said. Cantabile glanced up past me, then snorted.

“I’m not certain it would count as ‘antagonizing,’ but whatever,” she said, pushing away from the railing. “Enough of my laziness. Flick wants to go bug Van about something, so I’m gonna go deal with the bridge while she does whatever.”

Legretta stopped in front of me and watched Cantabile leave before turning back to me. “Making friends again?”

I blinked. “We were friends before?”

The blonde scowled. “You could call it that.”

I shrugged. “Meh, whatever. If we were, I can understand why. Still, I’m under orders. Much as I hate it, I’m actually going to stick to them for once.”

Legretta looked like she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or groan. Meanwhile, Asch was giving me funny looks.

“I’m going to leave Asch in your charge for right now. I have to deal with Dist,” Legretta said finally before leaving. I crossed my arms, then glanced at Asch.

“So, since it seems my wing pack has been confiscated... again... What shall we do to entertain ourselves?”

Asch shrugged. “There’s not a lot we can do, really. Not with this many Oracle Knights around,” he said.

“Hey, you!”

Asch and I both turned to look at Arietta. “Need something, brat?” Asch asked. One of my hands made its way to my face. Brat? Really? Of all the things he could call Arietta, it had to be brat?

“Not you, butthead. The woman from the Intelligence Division.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted.

*Butthead? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call you that before...*

*Shut up.*

“What’s so funny?” Arietta demanded, stomping over to stand in front of me. I shook my head.

“Sorry. It’s amusing listening to people attempting to insult each other sometimes,” I said. Then I turned serious. “You needed something?”

Arietta frowned. “Dist is making me put together a small team of Oracle Knights for a mission, and I don’t want to have to deal with an entire group of idiots. You’re a major, right?” she said. I nodded. “Then get ready to leave. I’ve got to find a couple more people.”

I cringed. “Um, I’m already under orders to watch him,” I told her, pointing to Asch. She scowled, then turned and growled something loudly. A liger ran up and she growled some more before turning to me.

“Which cabin is he supposed to be staying in?” she asked.

“Cantabile’s,” I replied simply. Arietta turned and growled some more before turning to Asch.

“Go with my friend, he’ll show you to her cabin. Stay there,” she ordered. Then she looked up at me. “I am taking you with me if I have to chase down Legretta to have her give the order.”

I sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”

Arietta walked off, and I crossed my arms, watching as Asch reluctantly followed the liger. I made sure to keep up a mental connection. “So, what am I supposed to do about a weapon? I’m kinda without one right now...” I muttered to myself.

“Here.”

I held out my hands just in time to have something small and cube-shape shoved into them. “I told Zion your memories wouldn’t stay down long. Oh well. Again, don’t let him know I gave you that,” Flick said quickly as she walked past, still in the uniform that seemed like a purple, female version of Sync’s. I couldn’t help but stare after her for a few moments before I realized I was still holding the wing pack out where everyone could see.

*And she is...?*

*Um... Flick,* I answered Asch’s pseudo-question. He sighed.

*An ally or a neutral party?*

*Flick is an enigma that is very quickly driving me up a wall trying to figure it out,* I said. *I’d almost say she’s a double agent, but that doesn’t seem right either.*

*So, keep an eye on her?*

*Pretty much. Talk to you later. I think I know what’s about to happen,* I replied, cutting the connection and heading toward the ramp, pulling out my sword before stashing the wing pack away. The sheath was tied to my left hip rather than my right, which would force me to fight right-handed.

Arietta arrived with two lower Oracle Knights and five ligers about six minutes after I did. I raised an eyebrow when I saw the ligers. In the game, Arietta’s ligers have yellow bodies with white manes and purplish-red tails and ears, right?

Three of the five ligers matched the game ligers almost perfectly. The fourth had a black mane rather than a white one. The last, however... it had a dark orange-striped light gray body with a purple mane and red ‘wings’ and tail. Except, the tail had black tips. I frowned, remembering what Dark had told me about the liger clans and realizing that this one must have been Western clan.

“Mirage, you can ride on him,” Arietta said, pointing to the yellow-bodied, black-maned liger. “Sumrak doesn’t seem to like anyone, so I’ll ride him. You two pick fast,” she added, walking toward the gray liger while talking over her shoulder to the two soldiers.

I stepped toward the black-maned liger and hopped up onto its back. It didn’t seem particularly pleased to have me there, but at least it didn’t snap at me the way the gray was snapping at Arietta.

“Let’s go,” Arietta grumbled once the other two were mounted. She growled at the liger she was sitting on the back of, and it barked something back before heading down the ramp... rather reluctantly. I couldn’t help but smirk at Arietta a bit. She wouldn’t have noticed, she was looking ahead, and the two Oracle Knights were behind me.

Once we were on the ground, the ligers dug their claws in and shot off away from the Tartarus... back towards Kaitzur. How did I know this was going to happen?

“We have to get in place before Anise and the others get to the port!” Arietta called over her shoulder. “We’ll have about a day to get everything ready before we have to be ready to act.”

“Great. What are we doing, again?” I called. Arietta looked grimly cheerful, if that’s possible.

“We’re going to stop them from moving on to Chesedonia,” she said. “And we’re going to get Ion back, too.” Then she paused to roll her eyes. “Dist is making me help with one of his experiments, too.”

I sighed. “Right...”

Let it be said that the trip to Kaitzur was boring. Well, except for Arietta and the gray liger growling at each other every few moments.

We ended up tucking into one of the rest facilities at the port, and, to my further amusement, the gray liger curled up as far away from Arietta as it could. I ended up in the bed next to it, and I leaned down, wondering if I could growl on purpose the way I growl on accident.

I cautiously tapped into the liger’s mind before I growled, and was rather impressed, both by myself and the way ligers’ minds are built, when I understood what I said through his mind.

“Good boy.”

The liger looked up at me, seeming rather smug. “She’s annoying,” he told me. I only knew this because of the mental connection, mind you.

I just grinned, reached down, and scratched him behind the ear.

Arietta had just finished dealing with the other ligers when she walked over to us. She growled a bit, and since I was still listening through the liger’s mind, I understood what she said to him.

“So you’ll cooperate for a total stranger, but not for me.”

The liger looked up and her. “I don’t care if you’re the daughter of the Southern Clan Queen. You’re still Southern clan,” he stated. “And if you recall, I got kicked out for befriending an Eastern clan member.”

Arietta sighed, then glanced at me before looking back at him. “Would you rather she rode with you tomorrow, Twilight?”

The liger looked up at me, seeming to notice that I was still scratching his head, and he growled a general agreement. Arietta then turned to me.

“Sumrak seems to like you. I guess you can ride him tomorrow instead,” she told me. I shrugged. It didn’t really matter much to me. Still, it would be nice to talk to... I’m gonna call him Twilight. That’s what Arietta called him in the liger language. I’m not sure why she’s calling him ‘Sumrak’ now, but oh well.

Arietta walked back to the other end of the building, while the two Oracle Knights settled in near where she and the ligers had claimed a corner.

I frowned, strengthened the connection, and summoned up an image of Koran, attempting to send along a feeling of curiosity as well.

Shock and confusion were the first two things to reach me, followed up by me seeing myself through his eyes. I turned to look at him for a moment and nodded, then decided to see if this mental communication could still overcome the language barrier.

*I can’t really speak the liger’s language. It’s usually all on accident,* I admitted. Twilight seemed amused.

*I see... So we can use words like this.*

Hearing his mental voice speaking so clearly almost made me cut the connection in shock. Then I realized that I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

*So... You mentioned being friends with an Eastern clan member earlier?*

Twilight relaxed, making it seem like he was falling asleep. *Yes. We were young at the time. His name was... Kallig. And to be honest... The liger you showed me earlier... If you hadn’t attached the name ‘Koran’ to him, I’d have thought it was my friend,* he told me. *Kallig left before we were fully grown. He’d been playing with a human too. I guess he went with the human.*

My mind started spinning as something occurred to me. Dark had been replicated, and Koran had died when he and Dark were pretty much just following Natalia around all day? What if...

*You give me a headache doing that.*

My thought processes ground to a halt again. *Sorry.*

*That boy looked similar to the one Kallig used to play with, too... Are you sure that wasn’t Kallig you showed me earlier?* Twilight asked. I sighed, mentally at least. On the outside, I probably looked like I was asleep.

*I doubt it. Koran died about a month ago. If I’m right, Kallig is still alive,* I admitted. *And his human friend and I aren’t exactly on good terms with one another.*

Twilight sent along this feeling of not really caring. Then he seemed to pause. *How are you doing this?*

I frowned. *It’s an ability I’ve picked up along the way. Don’t tell Arietta, please?*

Twilight seemed smug again. *No worries. I like you. She’s a bossy little...*

*Brat?* I supplied.

*That works.*

I took a deep breath and shifted a little, making myself more comfortable. *Talk to you in the morning, Twilight.*

*You know, I don’t know your name. I wasn’t paying attention earlier,* Twilight told me. I smiled a bit.

*Kairi. But again, don’t tell Arietta. If she asks, my name is Mirage.*

Twilight growled something that meant absolutely nothing before I fell asleep and the connection snapped.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The name ‘Sumrak’ is actually a holdover from my co-op with Marluxia of Avalon (on FFnet), Gifted, wherein we gave all the ligers names Google translated from Slovak. Most of the liger names here are more... actual names than anything else, though. Which is then very different from WeGotWinx’s Boundaries of the Mind, where names are... well. Golden-prince-protects-the-princess/queen is a good example._


	14. Chapter 2.5 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone following me over from FFnet and re-reading as I post, yes, some of the quotes/fun facts have been changed. Last chapter's, especially, was a very... Well. It had to do with posting and email alerts.  
> I think discussing liger names was a better option.

_*You’ve got a lot of explaining to do when this is over.* –Jade_

* * *

“Mirage, wake up! Anise and the others are on their way here!”

I sighed.

“I’m already awake, Arietta. I’ve been up longer than the rest of you.”

Twilight growled from next to me. I wasn’t completely sure, but it sounded like confirmation. I sat up slowly and stretched. Even laying down like that, meditating for any amount of time resulted in stiff muscles.

“We have to get to work quickly,” Arietta said. I nodded, getting out of the bed and pulling my boots on quickly. Again, I was down to just the blue dress and black spandex shorts that usually hid under the maroon coat they’d given me.

I grabbed the coat, sleeves, and the blue belt that went along with the outfit, pulling the coat on without zipping it up as I stepped out the door. I glanced north, toward the border, and reached out as far as my mind would stretch. Sure enough, I caught on the edges of Jade’s mind.

*Kairi?*

I smirked. So, he was starting to figure out how to do that the way Asch and Sync had learned long ago. Good. It made my job easier.

*The southern sun creates a false image, a girl who lies within a real mirage.*

I cut off the moment I’d relayed the riddle, pulling on the sleeves quietly. “So, what first?” I asked. Arietta frowned.

“We have to put the ferry out of commission and kidnap any engineers who can fix it,” she said. She turned to the soldiers. “Go find the engineers. We’ll deal with the ferry,” she ordered. Twilight stayed close to me, and as I zipped up my coat, I re-connected with his mind. Arietta then turned to me.

“Do you know any fonic artes?” she asked. I nodded.

“A couple. I take it we’re going to find the ferry and attack it?”

Arietta nodded, then turned to Twilight. “You and the other ligers are going to help us destroy the ferry. I’ll have one of my brothers guard our backs,” she said. Twilight nodded reluctantly before taking off toward the ferry. Arietta and I followed at a more sedate pace, while I put the belt on and tied my sheath in place, still on my left hip.

Once we were standing in front of the ferry, I frowned and settled into a casting stance, reaching out through my fingertips as opposed to my forearms. It was odd, because even though I wasn’t used to this, I could still pull in the fonons as if they were Energies, almost.

It did take me a minute to figure out the difference between fonons, though. Once I’d gotten the fourth and second fonons collected up, however...

“O frigid blades, pour forth! Icicle Rain!”

“O twisted door, open wide! Negative Gate!”

“Hey!”

I turned, spotting the Kimlascan soldier almost immediately, and drew my sword. Arietta’s liger would only be able to handle so many of them, after all.

Sure enough, more soldiers showed up while Arietta and her monsters (I noted a few griffins joining in now) unleashed hell on the ferry. I worried about protecting Arietta while the liger kept the soldiers from getting to the ferry, but one liger isn’t much of a fight for seven soldiers.

“I hope those soldiers found the engineer, because we’re not going last much longer here,” I warned. Arietta growled in frustration, then let out a bird call. Her hresvelgr, the blue bird she’s always fighting with, dropped out of the sky just in time for one of the Oracle Knights to come running onto the scene with a tied-up mechanic. Arietta screeched something else before growling as loudly as she could.

The four surviving ligers retreated, Twilight shooting a glance at me before following the yellow-bodied ligers.

“Arietta! What is the meaning of this?!”

I realized then that Van couldn’t yet see me, and contemplated disappearing as quickly as I could, now that the three soldiers who had been fighting to push me away from Arietta were dead.

The hresvelgr dipped down and took off with the engineer, while the remaining Oracle Knight was cut down by another Kimlascan soldier.

“Mirage?!”

Luke and the others came into view then, and I realized it was too late to hide. Oh well. They were going to find out eventually anyway.

“Arietta, what are you doing?” Van demanded, apparently deciding that I really must not have had an idea as to what was going on.

Arietta hid most of her face behind her doll. “Dist told me to!” she said quickly.

“And you always listen to Dist, Gloomietta?” Anise asked. Arietta growled.

“I am not gloomy!”

“Arietta!” Van snapped.

Arietta held up an arm, and I spotted two griffins descending and lifted my own as well. “I have to take the engineer who can repair the ship,” she said, loud and clear. “If Ion and Luke don’t come to Choral Castle, they’ll kill him.”

Jade’s eyes watched me, and I saw him tap his head once.

*Thanks for not blowing my cover,* I told him. He took a deep breath.

*You’ve got a _lot_ of explaining to do when this is over.*

I resisted the urge to chuckle. *I know.*

The connection cut off as the griffins flew out of my range, and I started feeling around for Twilight.

“We’re going to have to land on the roof. It’ll take them a couple of days at least to get to the castle,” Arietta said, seemingly thinking out loud. I nodded to myself.

“How long will it take the ligers?” I asked. She frowned.

“They should make it before nightfall,” she told me. She then proceeded to ignore me, while the griffin carrying me shifted to fly right over the other. I figured out what was going on just before the bird monster could drop me.

Let it be known that I don’t much care for riding on griffins. Being carried in one’s claws? Okay. Riding on one’s back? Yeah... No.

The griffin I was now riding on then dropped Arietta on the one that had originally been carrying me, leaving us to once again ignore each other. This was perfectly fine by me. It gave me time to stop and think.

Asch was currently pretending to cooperate with the God-Generals. I was still pretending to have amnesia, but Cantabile, Flick, Asch, and Jade knew better. Maybe the others in the group, since none of them had called out, despite them looking shocked when I’d been there. And we were currently on our way to Choral Castle, where Luke’s fonslots will be lined up with Asch’s. Which I want to happen, so I can take Asch, find Reighn, and maybe see about slowing Van down while still keeping in contact with the others.

So, first order of business would be... Freeing Asch. And then finding Reighn after that.

I didn’t even notice we were approaching Choral Castle until the griffin started dropping. I blinked, spotting silver hair on the roof waiting for us, right next to...

“Aerith?” I whispered. The blue-haired girl wasn’t wearing black and pink anymore. In fact, she was dressed up in black and light blue, in a similar outfit to what she’d worn before, but it seemed more similar to the God-General outfits than anything else. Wait a minute...

“Aerith, Star! Did the engineer make it okay?” Arietta called just as the griffins were landing. Aerith nodded.

“Yes. And Mohs said he’s got a backup plan if we don’t manage to stop them from getting to Baticul,” the blue-haired girl said. She glanced at me and frowned. “You look familiar...” she added. I shrugged, hopping down from the griffin.

“I’ve got amnesia, but I may have met you while undercover on my last mission,” I told her. She blinked a few times before she frowned again.

“I see...” she turned and walked away. “Mohs wants a report from you, too, Arietta!”

The pink-haired girl sighed. “She gets appointed as the head of the Intelligence Division and suddenly she thinks she’s in charge. Arg...”

I sighed, deciding not to fight with it, and stepped past Arietta to head down the stairs. Star followed me, watching me carefully.

“You already remember, don’t you?” she asked after a while. I’d made it down to the ledge by the sea and sat down, watching the waves.

“Do you care either way?”

Star shrugged as she sat next to me. “The God-Generals are a means to an end. We need you alive. So long as you don’t get killed, I don’t really care what you do. Zion and Van don’t really want you interfering, but Zion won’t stop you if that’s what your heart is really set on. Danté’s probably pissed ‘cause you escaped... You haven’t met Rhunön yet, she’s holding down the fort up north. Ryndor finds your... antics, I suppose we’ll call them, amusing. And... Seth has never met you, nor does he really know enough about you to say anything. He’s out at the base in Tataroo Valley, cleaning it out so we can finally cut it down to just two bases.”

“And you’re telling me all this... why?”

“I’m bored. And you already know about the base near Shurrey Hill. Also, you did something that made Flick happy. I still don’t know what, but she’s been in a very good mood since you asked to examine us,” Star said. “And... I don’t really like fighting. Really, the only reason I’m here is because of Zion.”

I frowned. “What happened with that, anyway?” I asked, wondering if I could get the story out of Star. She seemed to zone out for a while.

“He was sick. The replicas were made. He got worse. I took him and left Daath, and we found Ryndor. Ryndor healed him. He refused to go back to Daath,” she said. The short, clipped sentences were my first hint that she was really uncomfortable with the topic, so I leaned back, propping myself up with my hands.

I thought to myself for a moment before nodding and laying back.

“What are you doing?” Star asked. I shrugged.

“Meditating,” I answered. Then I took a deep breath and slipped most of the way out of my body. I started thinking about the night-time plains I liked visiting, and let the image of the stars overtake everything.

_It felt real, honestly. As if I were really there._

_I’d been laying there for what had to have been a half an hour before I noted the movement off to the side. I ignored it, expecting my imagination to give me Sync again._

_“Um... exactly how far away from the Tartarus are you?”_

_I frowned, looking up again and realizing that it was Asch, not Sync, who had joined me. I took a moment to sit up and examine my surroundings, coming to the same realization I’d come to in my earlier dream._

_“I’m on the third plane again...”_

_“Uh, don’t you have to be dead to get there?”_

_I couldn’t help it, I started laughing._

_“Which is why I’m seriously thinking I’m having a strange dream. Or, series of dreams.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_I frowned as Asch sat down next to me. “I... Sometime between losing consciousness in the fight against Van and waking up without my memories, I... I was here. And Sync was here. And... we talked. I told him the story of Swan Lake. But... it can’t have been real. This can’t be real... Sync’s dead. I thought I was, for a moment there.”_

_Asch was silent for a while._

_“Do you think it has something to do with the concussion Van gave you? I mean, I fixed the blockage of Energies that was repressing your memories, but there was still something off in your head. I didn’t want to mess around with it, in case I did something I’d regret,” Asch said. I frowned._

_“You mean...”_

_“You remember when we spent hours laying outside Engeve one time and talked about the third plane?” Asch asked, knotting his fingers in the grass. I nodded. “Well, remember my idea? That if the first plane is the physical, and the second is the spiritual, then the third would have to be mental? Maybe... Maybe it is possible to reach the third without dying... Which would explain why we’re both here.”_

_I took a few moments to think that over. “Do you think I could find Sync here again?”_

_Asch sighed and quit playing with the grass. “Why are you asking me? I just fell asleep and felt something like your telepathy at the edges of my consciousness. I’m not sure I even made the decision to come here. I just... did,” he admitted. I groaned._

_“I’ll try again later. I wasn’t trying to do this, I swear,” I said. Then I frowned. “I think I’ll go check out the Energy thing you were talking about.”_

_Once I had decided that I wanted to leave, Asch started disappearing. One moment he was there, then he was transparent, and then he was gone. Then the rest of the place disappeared in a similar manner, fading to black and then to white._

“...ri? Kairi?!”

My eyes shot open, and I realized Star was bent over me. She looked really, really panicked, which I found weird. “Are you _trying_ to blow my cover?” I hissed. Star sighed in relief.

“Your heart rate and breathing slowed down a lot. For a few minutes, I kinda brushed it off, but then I started to get worried. I thought you’d dropped into a coma!” she told me.

I frowned. “Was I in a similar state... before?” I asked. Star blinked a few times.

“You mean after Van bashed your head in? Yeah, for a few hours. Why?”

I sat up slowly and thought about that. So, I dropped into a coma whenever I made the journey to the third plane. That made sense. Without a mind, the spirit has no support, and the body no direction.

“It’s alright. It’s supposed to happen,” I said.

“When you’re supposed to just be meditating? I’m not stupid. I know you can put your body into a similar state during meditation, but a coma?”

“It wasn’t actually meditation... Van may have actually helped me, giving me that concussion,” I said, sitting up straight but Indian-style and closing my eyes again. “This time I’m actually meditating,” I warned Star.

Then I slipped right out of my body and turned to look at my head. Oddly enough, nothing looked _too_ out of place, so I took a closer look. Asch wasn’t crazy, I knew that, but... Ah-ha!

There it was, a little bubble of moon and earth and water Energies that seemed to be acting like a second Energy Core. Except, this one was built like... like fonslots in a seventh fonist, almost. So, this was the reason I could now reach the third plane? I’d definitely have to experiment a bit.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Sometime while working on the Re:ARitA cover, I decided on about a dozen other projects... One of which involved Dark with black angel wings... (I blame listening to Angel with a Shotgun on that one.)_

_Eventually, those wings ended up more a dark indigo than actually black._


	15. Chapter 2.6 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, this didn't really occur to me until just now, but at some point, I will be going back through and adding in the pictures I've drawn for this series wherever they're appropriate. In the meantime, though, you can find everything on DeviantART under the same username as here. (Except with a dash '-' instead of an underscore '_' because reasons.)

_*Long time, no voice in my head.* –Dark_

_“I’m not sure we’re getting anywhere with this conversation.” –Guy_

* * *

“They’re here.”

I nodded once, adding one more line before closing the sketchbook and standing. I already knew that, of course, but there was no reason to let Star know about my telepathy, so I didn’t say anything.

It had taken Jade and the others almost five days to reach Choral Castle, as opposed to the initial estimate Arietta had given me of three days.

I slipped the sketchbook into my wing pack and then reached out with my mind, already following Star toward the roof. We weren’t actually going to be involved. My job was quite simple, really. Wait for Arietta to drop Ion into my care and then bolt back to the Tartarus. Assuming she actually got him this time instead of Anise.

Star and I were sitting on the roof, just out of sight of where the others were going to run into Arietta.

*Hey.*

*Long time, no voice in my head,* Dark grumbled. Jade chuckled, while I just smirked. If Star noticed, she didn’t comment.

*Arietta’s on the roof. She’s going to try to nab Luke and Ion. It may actually be in our best interests to let her get Luke,* I told them. Dark flashed a familiar image, one that left Jade completely baffled. *Yeah,* I confirmed the former assassin’s question. *Also, I’ll be heading back to the Tartarus when this shit’s done. I had hoped you guys would be able to get Asch out, but obviously not, so I’ve still got work to do.*

*Assuming the God-Generals don’t give you an assignment... How the hell did you end up working with them, anyway?* Dark asked. I sighed.

*I’m not sure whether to be glad I got my head bashed in, because I can now reach the third plane, or pissed because if Asch hadn’t been there, I may have lost my memories indefinitely,* I said. I could feel Jade bristling and decided it would be a great idea to not let him be pissed. *The God-Generals are operating under the assumption that I still don’t remember... although I don’t think Arietta even knows who I am.*

*Cantabile?* Jade asked.

*Sync told her a little of what I taught him about riddles,* I said. *So if anyone had listened into that conversation, they would have been utterly baffled.*

*Speaking of which... We have a riddle for you to translate at your leisure,* Dark said. I sighed.

*Oh, joy...*

*We’re almost to the roof. Where are you?* Jade asked.

*Not getting involved. Unless you fail to keep a hold on Ion. In which case, I’ll just bring him with me and Asch when we ditch the Tartarus,* I said. Then I broke off the connection and turned my attention toward the roof where I could barely see Arietta’s pink hair. Her hresvelgr was hovering in the air behind her, so I waited a few moments before...

“There it goes.”

Star’s words were accented by a screech as the blue monster dipped down and came back up to circle around. Sure enough one redhead in a white coat was dangling from its claws. It then turned and came down again, this time coming up with... Jade?

I resisted the urge to laugh, which became especially easy when the hresvelgr dropped him back on the roof... even less lightly than it had Anise in the game. He might be over-dramatic regarding his age, but even so...

*You okay?* I asked. Jade started to stand up and hissed.

*I’m glad I’m right-handed right now...* he said. I reluctantly poked in a little further, and felt the pain in his left arm quite clearly. *Where is that monster taking Luke?*

I glanced up, spotting the hresvelgr flapping off toward the ledge I’d pretty much claimed as my own. *Back to the fomicry machine. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.*

Arietta and one of her ligers walked up to us then, and I realized that Jade and the others now had to turn around to get Luke, because there was nothing else they could do. That having been said...

“Here.”

The engineer stumbled forward, practically running into Arietta from the way Aerith had shoved him forward. The blue-haired girl then turned to me. “Dist wants to talk to you after he’s finished with the replica. You should head down now,” she said before turning and leaving. I nodded after her, before glancing at Arietta. She sighed.

“Sum... Twilight should be back by now,” she said. She’d been trying to get used to calling him ‘Twilight’ like I was, but it obviously wasn’t working well.

I nodded again, then headed down to where Dist was currently adjusting Luke’s fonslots. Luke seemed to be unconscious still, so I headed down to stand behind Dist.

“You asked for me?”

Dist glanced over his shoulder at me before turning back to the machine in front of him. “I want you to go back undercover with these people,” he said. I frowned.

“I don’t remember any of them, nor my story,” I lied. Dist didn’t turn around.

“Tell them you have amnesia, which is the truth, and that you can just barely remember some faces, which isn’t, apparently.”

“Half-truths... An excellent form of lying,” I said. Dist chuckled, pulling the infamous fon disk from the slot in the machine.

“It will be enough to placate the fools,” he said. “Get as close to them as they’ll let you and report everything that you think could help us cripple them. And focus on Jade, especially.”

I nodded, clicking my heels together as I saluted. “Anything else, sir?”

“Yes... report only to me. That will be all, Major.”

And with that, Dist flew off in that ridiculous flying chair of his.

I headed up the stairs and past Luke, who was wide awake and staring at me, horrified. Understandable, I suppose, given what he’d just heard. I briefly considered my options, and ended up pausing before walking back to Luke.

“Tell Jade what you’ve seen and heard if you wish, but deliver this message as well. ‘The jadis dart is a mirage.’ Can you remember that?”

Luke frowned. “The jadis dart is a mirage... What the hell does that even mean?”

I smirked. “Jade will know. Now, if you’ll excuse me... I have to warn Asch that our plans have changed... again... Damn Dist...” I muttered, walking off. “Also, tell Dark that he’s forfeited his right to candy.”

If that didn’t completely baffle Luke, nothing ever would.

I was halfway through the entrance hall when Twilight caught up to me. He padded along at my side as I walked out and ducked down into the foliage just outside the castle.

I frowned and carefully delved into Luke’s mind. He’d be the least likely of any of them to notice my presence.

“Kairi’s working for the God-Generals, I think,” Luke was saying.

“You think?” Guy asked, skeptical. Luke sighed.

“I don’t know! She’s confusing as hell, okay?!” he grumbled. Then he looked up at Jade. “She said to tell you, ‘the jadis dart is a mirage.’ Also, she said Dark had forfeited his right to candy...”

Dark snorted once, put a hand over his face, and then broke up laughing.

“Um...” Tear started. Dark shook his head.

“I jinxed her. Whoops.” He didn’t sound very upset about that, but then, he was still too busy laughing. Jade, on the other hand, was able to limit himself to a smirk.

“Well, that explains a lot. What exactly made you think she was working for the God-Generals, Luke?” he asked. Luke sighed.

“Dist told her to report to him.”

“Which explains the jadis dart riddle.”

“Okay, I’m just going to say that I am completely confused,” Anise said. Dark sighed, a small smile slipping across his face.

“There’s this flower, see, and it’s about this big,” he said, holding his thumb and finger about an inch apart. “The tips of the petals are pointed and they’re blue, whereas the rest of the flower is white. There is another flower that is very similar, except the blue is in the center of the flower instead of at the points.”

“The first is known as the lapis dart. The second is the jadis dart. One is extremely poisonous, the other is the antidote to the poison,” Jade continued. Then he smirked. “I’ve always questioned my mother’s logic, naming me after the antidote...”

Dark snorted again. “Jadis dart can be deadly in large amounts...”

“I’m not sure we’re getting anywhere with this conversation,” Guy said.

Tear sighed. “I may not be a master of riddles, but I’m just going to assume that the phrase ‘the jadis dart is a mirage’ is actually supposed to mean that Kairi is on our side,” she said, also trying to get them back on track. Jade nodded.

“Which means we should probably get going,” he prompted. “Arietta still has the engineer on the roof.”

“What about Kairi?” Anise asked.

“We never saw her. So far as we know, she caught the ferry to Chesedonia before we arrived in Kaitzur,” Jade said, locking eyes with Luke. The redhead nodded reluctantly, and I pulled out of his mind, leaving no one the wiser.

*How far are we from the Tartarus?* I asked Twilight. He was quiet for a moment.

*A few hours’ run, at least.*

I frowned, sending along a pseudo-plan through the connection. Twilight seemed to agree with it, so I clambered up onto his back and he started running. I let my mind reach out, seeking one so familiar that it was practically second nature to connect to his mind. Of course, it took us at least an hour to get within my range, and once we were there, I tapped Twilight’s leg with mine, and he slowed.

*Change of plans. I’m stuck playing double agent.*

*I’m stuck in my old uniform again.*

*I’ll try to make it quick.*

*You better.*

I cut the connection and nodded to Twilight, who turned and took off for Kaitzur. The border town, not the port, since Kaitzur is actually a small town rather than just a checkpoint like in the game. Our plan was rather simple, actually. We were going to try to beat Jade and the others back to the port, and since I knew Twilight was more than fast enough for that, even if they took the coaches Van would bring, I wasn’t too worried about the pit stop I was going to make.

I needed something, anything that wouldn’t scream ‘Oracle Knight’ or ‘I’ve recovered my memories.’ For that end, I’d have to go buy yet another outfit. Well, a shirt and pants, at least. I had an off-white jacket in my wing pack, and black boots that should go with just about anything.

I frowned, trying to figure out what I could do with that. Simple black pants should work... a red shirt? I nodded to myself. That would work.

Twilight growled, and I hopped down from his back.

*I’ll be back ASAP. We don’t have a lot of time, anyway,* I told him. He nodded, laying down behind a few trees to stay out of sight while I headed into the small town to get the clothes I needed.

I ended up returning to Twilight wearing loose black pants, my black boots, a red tank top, and the off-white jacket. I hoped it wouldn’t give me away either direction.

Twilight growled something to me when I reached him, and I rolled my eyes as I climbed up on his back. *Try that again?* I prompted.

*I said, the landship left,* Twilight replied. I frowned, wondering where they’d be off to next. Probably Chesedonia, that’s where Sync tries to... Damn it! *What’s wrong?*

*Nothing. I just have to rethink some things,* I told Twilight before drawing out of his mind.

At this point in the game, the party gets on the ferry to Chesedonia, Luke uses a hyperresonance on the ferry, Van hypnotizes him, they get off in Chesedonia, go get the fon disk checked out, and get attacked by Sync on the way back to the ferry. On the second ferry ride, Dist attacks.

Dist never lost the fon disk.

Sync is dead.

I’m here.

I groaned, wondering just what would happen this time.

So, Dist never lost the fon disk. However, I’m under orders to report to him. Could that cause something? Perhaps. No one’s going to be attacking them in Chesedonia, though. Except the Dark Wings.

The Dark Wings!

I grinned. Noir, York, and Urushi would definitely be helpful. Maybe they’d even know where Reighn was.

Twilight growled a warning as he slowed, and I looked up, frowning.

“Mirage? What are you doing here?” Van asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. I noted that he was headed out toward Choral Castle in a coach. So, going to go pick the others up.

“Orders from Locrian Colonel Dist, sir,” I said, sitting up straight. Van frowned.

“Orders?”

“I am to rejoin the ambassadors under the alias of Kairi Balfour. If they ask, I’m suffering from amnesia... which is true, so they shouldn’t suspect much,” I told him. Van looked uncomfortable.

“Very well. I assume you’re to be reporting to him, then?”

“Yes, sir.”

Van just nodded and left, but not without shooting one last cautious glance over his shoulder. “I hope your story will convince them, because I don’t want to have try to retrieve you from Colonel Curtiss.”

I turned away and smirked to myself as Twilight started walking again. As if I’d let him and Jade hurt each other. Given everything that had happened, I’d probably worry more about just getting Jade away from him before my brother could get hurt.

That having been said...

“What am I going to do about you, then?” I muttered as Twilight growled a warning, one I recognized from spending time around Koran. I glanced up, noting that we were at the port. I slipped off his back and turned to him.

*You’re going to have to be careful what you say, I’m sure. Dark and Sorylle will understand you easily,* I informed Twilight. He nodded, then growled. It wasn’t really meant to be anything but a sign of encouragement. *Oh, I’m not worried about myself at all. They all know I’m undercover, one way or another. Honestly, it’s Luke who concerns me.*

I was about to continue along that tangent when the all-too-familiar sound of a sword being unsheathed reached my ears, along with a warning growl from Twilight. I scowled and grabbed at the wing pack in my jacket pocket. My sword and bow were both in there... And while I was pulling the sword out, Twilight charged at the trio of bandits that had snuck up on us.

I glanced around as I stuffed the wing pack back into my pocket. Ah, a fonist.

My target firmly in mind, no thanks to the first time I’d been attacked by bandits, I joined Twilight in the battle.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _There is a lot of telepathy in this chapter. 33 lines worth, to be precise. That said... There’s plenty more further down the line. Especially in a few chapters where Kairi’s just bored and needs a distraction, but can’t actually get up and do anything._


	16. Chapter 2.7 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since my goal for the year is to post a chapter a day (or, well, the equivalent of a chapter a day), I... have a lot of catching up to do for this month. '-_-
> 
> ...I'll get there.

_And, like a lot of things regarding Sync, I don’t want to know. –Kairi_

_“Yes, riddle. In your preferred medium of nonsensical but formatted poetry.” –Dark_

* * *

“Hmm? Kairi?”

I leaned back, throwing my head backwards to look at Jade... Okay, so he was upside-down by my perspective, but still...

“Did you know I have a poor sense of direction when travelling in forests?” I asked. Jade blinked twice, before smirking slightly.

“Oh, is that it? Ah, I remember. Asch was the one who couldn’t find his way around in cities,” he replied, catching onto my joke. The joke being that the two positions stated above were actually reversed.

“Well, at least I didn’t get lost with the road completely in sight,” I added, letting my head fall back into a natural position. Jade chuckled, unable to resist, while I forced down a smirk. Yes, that last one had been Sync’s handiwork. How he had pulled it off, I don’t know... And, like a lot of things regarding Sync, I don’t want to know.

“We assumed you’d have made it onto the ferry before Arietta destroyed it,” Tear said. I smirked as I stood.

“You know you make an ass out of ‘u’ and ‘me’ when you do that, right?” I asked. Tear gave me an odd look, while Guy sighed, Anise giggled, and the other three males just gave me a knowing glance. “Anyway, I just got here a little while ago. I got totally turned around and ended up back at Fubras River, _after_ you guys went through. It helped that I picked this guy up about then,” I said, pointing to the liger who was contentedly napping a little ways off.

Dark stared at it for a moment before growling, thankfully after I’d managed to connect to Twilight’s mind.

“And what’s a western clan alpha doing this far south?”

Twilight raised his head and looked at him, seeming to balk for a moment. Then he stood. “Avoiding my pack... and clan, for that matter,” he replied, padding over to me. He paused a moment to sniff the baby liger Dark was still carrying around. Huh. I guess he never got around to taking her home. “An eastern... female?”

Dark frowned, shifting into an almost defensive position, while Twilight huffed, turning away from him. “Interesting friend,” he commented. I shrugged.

“Yeah. And?”

Jade sighed, obviously agreeing with me that we weren’t getting anywhere with this. “He’s not one of Arietta’s, is he?” he asked, obviously cautious. Twilight openly snorted at that.

“Princess Prissy? Ha! I got kicked out of my pack for making friends with an easterner. Why would the southern ligers like me any more than them?”

Dark glanced between me and Twilight before he broke down in laughter. “Oh yeah. Perfect fit.”

I held out my right arm and poked at the fonons there. This was something I’d done while waiting for them to arrive at Choral Castle, and it was nice to know it was almost as easy as Jade made it look.

A short flash of displaced fonons, and a frying pan was in my grip. Dark sobered up quickly, and Luke, Jade, and Guy, who were closer than he was, all took steps back, while attempting (and failing) to be inconspicuous about it.

I just smiled as sweetly as I could.

A short, quiet warning growl from Twilight had the frying pan’s fonons resting on my arm again and my smile vanished, replaced with something as apologetic as I could muster.

Jade and Dark stiffened, Dark’s right hand hovering over his holster.

“Ah, there you are. Oh... Hello Kairi...”

It took all I had not to smirk at Van. More points for his acting abilities... since we all know I irritate him. (And that right there is an understatement.) But, since he thinks I think I’m his subordinate, he’s trying not to act all that cordial, like one would think he normally would.

“Van,” I replied curtly. Luke groaned.

“What is with you two? You get along like...” He frowned, trailing off as he tried to come up with a suitable metaphor.

“Ligers from different clans?” Dark supplied. Luke rolled his eyes, but didn’t reply. “At least their relationship hasn’t devolved to the one Danté and I have yet.”

“And that would be...?” Van started.

“Kill on sight. Or attempt to, at least.”

I reached out for Dark’s mind as Luke and Van started talking. *If it weren’t for the fact that he’s trying not to blow my cover, he would be trying to kill me. How do you think I got amnesia in the first place?* I asked. Dark sighed in his mind, careful not to echo it physically.

*Thank you for that lovely information. I want to kill him more now.*

*Sync?*

*If I had the proof, I’d shoot him right now.*

*He did it, but I’m not sure how to give you the proof. It’s kinda back on Earth.*

*...How is that supposed to work?*

*My doppelganger has some abilities I don’t because of the lack of a true Energy Core.*

*...I’d repeat my previous question, but I think Jade’s starting to realize we’re talking. When are you planning to tell him—*

*Not until I’m sure he can handle it. He’s got a lot on his mind right now. My kidnapping, my return, my leg, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem anymore, Sync’s... yeah... and the fact that he knows I won’t stop until Asch is by my side again. And that’s not even starting on Reighn, who has ditched Van, good for him, and is probably going to be one hell of a headache to track down,* I said. Dark was quiet for a while, before his thoughts (which I couldn’t actually read, simply sense their movement, if that makes sense) snagged on something.

*What does Reighn look like?*

I frowned, glancing up at the others and noting that they seemed to be preparing to board the ferry, since it was now docked. Then I closed my eyes and summoned up my memories of Reighn, mostly from our first meeting, when he’d caught me twice since I’d exhausted myself.

*Ah... So he’s the one who delivered it.*

I let my utter confusion through the connection as I opened my eyes, and Dark walked over to me with a sigh, practically shoving the now-awake Sorylle into my arms while he made a bit of a fuss about inspecting Twilight.

*Van told us you’d died, supposedly an accident in Keterburg, which had also claimed the life of Sync, and that he was nursing Asch, the only survivor, back to health. But just before that, a stranger, this... Reighn... pulled me and Natalia off to the side. If you met on the ferry we took to Daath, that explains how Koran knew him. Anyway... He gave us the letter you’d written to Natalia just before your death, and... He told us it was murder. Then he left.*

I was quiet for a while, watching as, one-by-one, our friends started to group up around us. Sorylle jumped down from my arms and pounced on Twilight, who had decided to lay back down, starting up a bit of a tussle between the two that Dark and I couldn’t help but smile at.

“Hey, did you give her that riddle yet?” Luke asked as he walked over. I raised an eyebrow, since I wasn’t supposed to know about it yet.

“Riddle?”

Dark sighed, digging around in his coat pocket. “Yes, riddle. In your preferred medium of nonsensical but formatted poetry,” he said, handing over a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it, glanced over the five lines, and then stuffed it into my jacket pocket as Twilight growled another warning.

“It’s nice that he already knows who is _not_ a friend,” Dark said quietly as Van walked over. I resisted the urge to shrug. Let Van assume what he will.

“Are we all ready?” Van asked, noting that he was the last to arrive.

I nodded once. “It would seem. Shall we board then?”

Van gave me a cautious look, and Jade, just to keep up appearances, adjusted his glasses, a habit he used when uncomfortable with one thing or another.

“Yes, let’s,” Jade said, sticking his hand back into his pocket. I turned to step onto the ferry, seeing Almandine walking over to see us off. I, for one, was not interested in whatever babble he had to give us.

Twilight, Dark, and Sorylle followed me onto the ferry, Jade trailing behind after a moment. The others would probably follow a little ways behind, but I knew what I was going to do.

And, as the ferry set off, Luke found me tucked between a couple of crates on the back of the it.

“Hey... Um... About Sync...”

“Don’t, Luke.”

The redhead didn’t reply, simply stood there a few minutes before rather awkwardly turning and walking away.

And, as Luke left, Van stepped over to me. “Do they suspect?”

I could have thrown a pebble at him. But I was a good girl and didn’t.

“No. Or at least, not in the way we thought they would. The colonel seems to be concerned I’m a replica, but he’s not voicing that opinion where the others can hear him,” I said. It was a lie, of course, but Van didn’t need to know that. Though, Jade had thought I was a replica when we first met up in the Cheagle Woods, so I guess it’s not too much of a stretch.

Van nodded and headed up to the bridge, and I stood and left for the cabins, hoping to find Dark quickly. I had the feeling he, Jade, and the ligers would be taking up the cabin I’d dropped Twilight off in, though.

Sure enough, I walked in to find Jade and Dark sitting across from each other. A white cat rubbed up against my leg, and my eyes widened. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, Valkyria!”

She looked up at me and mewed, a depressingly tired sound that made me sigh in return. Then I looked up at Jade and Dark, Jade looking much more comfortable now. I raised an eyebrow, and he shook his head, almost in shame, it seemed.

“I’m sorry. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m going to wake up one day and find that you’ve been replicated...”

Dark sighed. “So, the riddle?” he prompted me. I shrugged, sitting down and pulling it out.

“Haven’t looked over it properly yet,” I said, flattening it out on the table. There was no punctuation, but after looking over it a few times, I thought I could figure out where it was supposed to be. “A replica of a mirror shows no light beneath the shadow of the mountains white, for the blood below never ceases flow. And one who was born without is now right...”

I continued to mumble this a few times, before I started picking out individual words and phrases, or translations. “Replica... mirror... Mt. Roneal... blood below... below?... never ceases... blood... never... born without... Wait.”

“Uh-oh. Here we go...” Dark muttered, letting his head fall back. I blinked a few times, remembering what my doppelganger had written. Sync had believed that I would return, and he had been born without all of the abilities of the Fon Master. So, this riddle really was meant for me. But what about the rest of the riddle?

The replica of a mirror made some sense. Replicas were practically mirror images of each other. Zion, the original, was a mirror of Ion. Replica of a mirror... shows no light? Perhaps hinting to the fact that Sync is dead? The second line was basically a reference to where he died. But the third and fourth...

“Blood below never ceases flow... blood below... Below? No... _within_...” I realized, remembering something I’d told Sync.

_“If all else fails, you can use ‘below’ in exchange for ‘within.’”_

_Confused green eyes looked up at me. “What do you mean?”_

_I shrugged. “Well, don’t ‘below the surface’ and ‘within’ mean pretty much the same thing?” Sync thought that over for a few moments before nodding._

“Blood within...” I muttered. Then my hands went slack as the full meaning of the riddle hit me and the paper slid out of my fingers.

“Kairi?” Jade called my name quietly but worriedly.

It was a good thing I was already sitting, or I’d have fallen on my ass.

“Uh-oh... Please tell me you’re in shock for a good reason...” Dark said. I sat there, emulating a fish, as I tried to speak.

“Below... When used in riddle-rhymes, it’s interchangeable with the word ‘within.’ In this case... he needed something to rhyme with ‘flow’ or a synonym of it,” I said quietly. “That having been said... The whole ‘replica of a mirror’ is Sync... it... he...” I broke off and took a deep breath.

Then another.

And one more.

“The only things that don’t show up in light are things that are transparent or nonexistent,” I continued. “And the last one... Replicas are born with... nothing, really. Born without... And he knew. He knew I wasn’t dead. He knew I’d come back,” I continued. Dark crossed his arms, but it was obvious that his brain was working through things.

As was Jade’s, if the shocked expression on his face was anything to go by.

“Beneath Mt. Roneal, where the blood within never ceases flow...” my older brother muttered, realizing just what it meant. Dark’s eyes widened, and he looked at the riddle again.

“Sync wrote this... _after_ Van captured Asch,” I said.

Twilight growled, and I stuffed the riddle back into my jacket, attempting, and probably failing, to hide the utter shock on my face. A good thing, then, that it was Guy, Luke, Anise, Ion, and Tear, not Van, who walked in.

“Uh, you three look like you just saw a ghost. Even the colonel. And that’s saying something, because I didn’t think it was possible to unsettle the colonel,” Anise said. Jade glanced at me.

“Van can’t know. Zion didn’t tell him he’d had me kidnapped, he thought I was dead. S... _He_ obviously planned this,” I said, glancing between Jade and Dark.

Jade nodded, finally schooling his expression into his usual cool mask, while Dark took a deep breath. “Shouldn’t we tell Asch?”

I closed my eyes to think. I had to get a message to Asch. Without the God-Generals catching on.

“What about Noir?”

“Who?” Luke asked.

I couldn’t help it, I smirked. “The Dark Wings... Perfect, Jade. I’m already planning on contacting them while we’re in Chesedonia. Knowing them, they’re going to have a party with the work I’m sending their way.”

Tear’s eyes were wide and innocent. “The Dark Wings? I thought they were bandits?”

 “Whatever keeps their boat floating,” I said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

I stood and left, Twilight behind me and Valkyria padding along next to him, so I could have a few moments relatively to myself on the deck.

Then it hit me.

“Sync’s alive...”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I hadn’t originally intended for Sync to send Kairi a message, but then I realized that he’d be stupid not to if he knew Kairi was still alive. Hence, the riddle, and this chapter._


	17. Chapter 2.8 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Current project: post all of Chapter 2! (Around other things. Like dishes.)

_“You’re as bad as Sync. Spit it out.” –Kairi_

_“Funny, but I’ve got the liger.” –Kairi_

* * *

“Kairi? Where are you going?”

I glanced over my shoulder and shrugged. “To find a carrier pigeon, probably. I need to send a letter to Noir,” I said as Luke fell into step next to me. Twilight was on the other side, Valkyria sitting on his head, which made for a rather cute sight if nothing else as we made our way up to the deck.

“You don’t mind if I come too, do you? Tear’s... confusing,” he said. “I don’t think she believed me at first when I said I didn’t remember anything. And she always acts so... cold.”

I sighed. “Count on soldiers to give you the cold shoulder, Luke. They see death a lot more often than the common folk. You have to build up walls against that... Asch, Sync, Jade, Dark, Tear... Anise is a bit young, but her outward cheer is just another defense mechanism. And me... I acknowledge it, and then push it away. I refuse to let it poison my mind, even if I end up locking it away to fester elsewhere,” I said after a few minutes. “Sync and I always joked that Asch’s temper burned hot enough to incinerate everything... even his guilt. Sync worried me at first, too, because he didn’t even have names for half the emotions he felt.”

Luke refused to meet my eyes. “I don’t get it. Soldier or not... How do you sleep at night, knowing you’re the one who cut their lives short?” he mumbled.

Ah. So he was still have difficulty coming to terms with killing.

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, trusting Twilight to warn me when Van came too close. “You don’t,” I said simply. “Your own will to live simply powers through it. If it doesn’t, you die. Maybe not physically, but you still die.”

“I don’t want to die...” I heard Luke murmur. I smiled a bit and let my arm drop.

The four of us made it up to the deck, finding Jade and Guy already there. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“Check in at the Kimlascan consulate before you board the ferry,” he ordered. “That way, we’ll know if you’ve made it back before us, or you’ll know if you’re the last.”

“I suppose that goes for me, too?”

I turned and raised an eyebrow, and Dark scowled as he stopped next to Luke. “I’m getting worried about the situation in the Northern Woods. I probably shouldn’t, but I’m sending off letters to Rhunön and Ryndor, maybe Seth. They might be able to work something out,” he said. I shrugged.

“You’ll probably still make it back before me,” I admitted. “If Noir is in Chesedonia, which she might still be, heavens know I’ll have my ear chatted off before I can even tell her the good news.”

Were it not for the fact that Tear, Anise, and an Arietta-toting Van chose then to walk up, I’d have attempted to knock the smug smirk off of Jade’s face with my frying pan.

The ferry docked not a moment later, and we all wandered off to stand outside the Malkuth consulate. Van stopped us a moment.

“You all go on ahead. I’ll catch up later. I have to send Arietta back to Daath,” he said. Luke looked like he wanted to argue, but the redhead forced it down.

“You’ll be back in Baticul soon, right?” he asked instead. Van nodded before heading into the consulate building. Ion, in the meantime, kept giving me looks, and I huffed, putting my hands on my hips as soon as I was sure Van was out of earshot.

“You’re as bad as Sync. Spit it out,” I grumbled.

Ion looked suitably chastised after that comment. “Oh, um... May I come with you?” he asked quickly.

“Ion!”

Anise, of course. I crossed my arms. “Let me guess. You want to talk to the Dark Wings about the bandit thing.”

Ion ducked his head in a nod, and I looked the other direction to think, making sure not to look back at Ion while doing so. Sync had somehow mastered the cute and innocent look, even if I knew he was everything but. Ion?

Yeah. No looking.

It left me with a bit of a problem, though. On the one hand, I wanted as few people as possible to find out that Sync was still alive. Also, I knew that if Noir had something else to do, there wouldn’t be any stealing of anything other than information most of the time. Ion would also be slowing me down, because while Valkyria was small enough to slip through crowds, Twilight wasn’t, and I’d already planned to leave him behind.

Then there was the report I was supposed to send to Dist.

That having been said...

I sighed, shook my head, and brushed a few loose bangs out of my face. “Anise?”

The younger girl looked thoughtful. “Well... So long as you promise to look after him, I’ll okay it,” she decided. I nodded, then patted Twilight on the head.

“Alright. Looks like you’re coming after all,” I told the liger, gently pulling Ion over and helping him up onto Twilight’s back before hopping up behind him. “See you guys later!” I called, giving Twilight directions via my telepathy.

Now, here’s a question for the people with good memory. Where in Chesedonia is Din’s shop? Just past the Malkuth consulate, right?

In reality, it was further than that, located behind a few stands in the bazaar. But, in keeping with the game events, guess who was standing around in said bazaar?

“Hey, Noir!”

I guess it helped that the crowds mostly avoided the liger I was sitting on, because the woman spotted me almost immediately, her eyes going wider than I’d ever seen before. I held up my right hand, first finger extended and the others curled, then put it down and extended my pinky, then tucked my thumb under my first and middle fingers.

Noir nodded once before turning back to the stall she’d been hovering by. York, who had also seen my sign language, ignored me, while Urushi was doing his best to hide the utter shock on his face.

I counted it a good thing that we managed to disappear past the crowds before he regained his senses.

“What was that all about?” Ion asked. I chuckled.

“I know three alphabets, four if you include sign language,” I told him. “Noir, York, and Urushi know sign language, because I taught them, and Noir can read English, barely. There’s a maid in Keterburg who is extremely fluent in English. And I taught Asch and Sync my runes. Well, I taught Asch. Sync picked up most of it without me realizing.”

“So, you used the hand signs to tell her something?” Ion guessed. I nodded.

“D, I, N. Din runs a little shop back here, so Noir knows where to come meet us,” I said.

Twilight growled softly, and I looked up and nodded, slipping off his back and opening the door. Ion managed to get down without too much trouble, and the green-haired kid followed me through, Twilight following him with Valkyria still curled up on his head.

“Ah, Kairi-sama!”

It never ceases to amuse me, the way Din talks, mostly because she seems to like speaking Japanese, with a hint of the valley girl accent she has in the game.

“Sama?” Ion echoed. I shrugged.

“It’s an honorific for someone you respect or who is higher in rank than you. So, pretty much everyone would call you Ion-sama if they spoke the same way Din does,” I explained before turning back to Din. “Konnichiwa, Din-san.”

“Ohayou. Are, like, others following?” she asked. I nodded.

“Noir-sama and the boys are coming. Twilight should be able to fit,” I said. Din nodded and moved a tapestry, showing a hidden door. I waved Ion through first, then Twilight, since Din had snagged my sleeve. “Something wrong?” I asked.

“Like, ask Noir-sama about her most recent escapade,” she said, in that knowing way that I’d come to get used to. I sighed before following Ion into the back room.

“Four, five, six... Why would she have six cots back here?”

I glanced around, double-checking Ion’s counting. Sure enough, there was the cot I figured was Din’s near the door, one that had Noir’s spare daggers peeking out from under the pillow, one that was so perfectly neat it had to be Urushi’s, and one with one of York’s spare coats thrown across it.

But there were two others. It looked like they’d been straightened up, but they’d definitely been slept in recently. I raised an eyebrow as I walked over, sitting down on one of them when no clues presented themselves immediately.

Twilight growled and nudged me, and I looked up at him, connecting to his mind.

*Yes?*

*The other nesting place smells like the green-furred... but not...*

I blinked a few times. “Huh?” Then my eyes widened. *It smells like Ion?*

*A bit, yes... But the scent is wrong. More...*

*Masculine?*

*How...?*

If I hadn’t already been sitting down, I’d have slumped onto one of the cots in shock, not only because of what Twilight and I had been discussing, but due to something that had suddenly connected a lot of dots in my head. As it is, enough must have been showing in my expression because Ion looked worried.

He didn’t get a chance to ask me about it though, because a certain trio of circus performers walked in.

“Well, look at what the cat dragged in. You’re a far cry from a grave in Grand Chokmah,” the lone female of the group teased. I smirked, poking at Twilight.

*How long?* I asked.

*Late last night... very late.*

“Ah, but you already knew that, didn’t you? Sync knew I wouldn’t stay down long,” I shot right back as I stood up. Then I crossed my arms. “And while we’re on the subject of not staying long, where’d they get off to last night?”

York chuckled. “They, who?” he asked. I shook my head.

“Funny, but I’ve got the liger. Sync and Reighn were here yesterday, weren’t they?”

Noir nodded once. “Caught the first ferry to Baticul as soon as Sync was sure he was completely healed. Something about assassins and factories? I’m not sure, honestly,” she admitted. “It left late last night, almost ten.”

*That would match up,* Twilight said. I nodded once, while Ion glanced between me and Noir.

“I thought Sync was...”

I sighed. “The riddle Cantabile left in St. Binah was written by Sync, for my eyes only,” I said. “After all, Asch doesn’t know enough about riddles to figure it out, and he’s the only other person with the knowledge needed to be able to unlock it.”

Noir sighed, digging around in a pouch for a moment. “Speaking of riddles... Here. Sync said to give this to you before the month is out, but I don’t think he planned on you getting here so quickly after he left.”

I raised an eyebrow, taking the paper and unfolding it.

This time, instead of Cantabile’s handwriting, I was met with the sloppy script that I’d always associate with Sync, and my heart almost broke again.

_Memories scatter with the valley’s end But heart does not so easily forget That when one’s life shatters instead of bends All of the bigger glass pieces are set_

I blinked, then sighed. “I taught that boy too well,” I muttered. Then I pulled my legs up to sit cross-legged and think. Somehow, I was getting the impression that Noir’s comment was as much of the riddle as the words were.

Then it struck me.

This wasn’t so much riddle as a reminder.

Akzeriuth...

I folded it up and put it with the other one, glancing up at Noir. “You said they went to Baticul, right? Fine. We’re headed that direction too,” I said. Then I sighed and stood up, turning slightly toward Ion on the other cot. “I’m sorry. I brought Ion here because he wanted to talk to you. Also, I’ve got something else I’ve got to do... I’ll leave Ion and Twilight to you three.”

Ion opened his mouth as if to protest, and I shook my head. “I’ll be back, and I don’t want to attract attention for this part. Don’t worry, I trust these three more than I trust Anise,” I told him. He took a deep breath and nodded, and I looked down at Valkyria, who was, predictably, rubbing up against my leg.

The two of us left before anyone could argue, and I waved to Din before exiting her shop altogether.

I cringed when I spotted Luke and Tear wandering around nearby, and after ducking around them and managing to find one of the two messenger pigeon services in Chesedonia, I pulled out a pad of paper (making a mental note to grab another as soon as possible), and wrote up my report as best I could, since I didn’t have a solid surface to work with.

“You can deliver that in person instead of wasting your Gald.”

I glanced up and then snapped to attention, saluting before looking around and relaxing again. Oddly enough, Dist was walking around instead of flying around in his chair.

“Honestly, I haven’t got a lot. He seems to be rather paranoid about replicas though,” I said. Dist crossed his arms.

“They haven’t mentioned anything about the last mission with you?”

“Nope, not that I’m aware of. I was trying to avoid Van, really, so if they mentioned anything around him, I wouldn’t have heard it.”

“And what’s with the cat at your feet?”

I sighed. “Apparently it was given to ‘Kairi’ before I tried to fake her death. It refuses to leave my side now,” I said, sounding appropriately annoyed by this development. Dist watched me cautiously before he adjusted his glasses in a very... Jade-like fashion.

“Unfortunately... Jade managed to find my back-up files and has saved them onto a fon disk, which he’s having read here to get the information on paper. I need to get those files back.”

I scowled, for more than one reason. “You want me to grab them without him noticing?” I asked, throwing in enough skepticism to get the point across. Dist crossed his arms.

“I don’t expect you to be able to do it, no. And if I attack the ferry, I’d rather have you fighting on my side. Either way, we’ll be blowing your cover and the entire point behind putting you in this position will become obsolete,” he said. I sighed, just sounding tired this time.

“And I’m sick of lying to him. I’m good at reading people. If I have to watch his heart break one more time, I’m going to do it properly.”

Dist raised an eyebrow. “You want to tell him it was all a lie?”

I shrugged. “He’s broken already. Might as well smash him to pieces in the process.”

Dist chuckled, an evil sound, and I had a feeling I knew what was coming next.

“I’ll see you on the ferry then, Mirage.”

‘Sorry, Jade.’

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _When I first started writing this... I completely forgot that Zion had broken Sync’s ribs in Re:ARitA. So... I rewrote it. They ended up staying longer than I’d originally planned in Chesedonia while waiting on Kairi._


	18. Chapter 2.9 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, another thing. I'm still taking requests for Colored Ripples chapters and artwork. (Whether or not anything will be done in a reasonable amount of time... -shrugs-)

_“For someone with such a bad record with Daath, I never expected to see you wearing an Oracle Knights uniform.” –Dark_

_The next Splash missed me by almost a foot, even though I’d just barely started moving. –Kairi_

_“Consider this a reward for surviving Jade’s wrath without me for ten minutes.” –Dist_

* * *

“Ah, there you are.”

I looked up at Jade and smiled, though I knew it wasn’t reaching my eyes. “Hey. Looks like we weren’t running that late after all,” I said. Ion, Twilight, Valkyria and I had walked into the Kimlascan consulate to find everyone except for Van there. Anise smiled.

“You guys have fun? Jade had something to do here, so he let us wander a little bit,” she said. I giggled, pointing to Luke and Tear.

“I noticed,” I said. Then I frowned. “I also noticed neither you, nor Dark was with them.”

Dark flushed pink. “Ah... I trust Tear enough with Luke’s safety. And Anise wanted to talk to me, and we ended up dragging Guy along,” he said quickly. I grinned at the former assassin.

“I’m teasing. So, we headed out?”

Jade nodded. “Yes. Let’s get onto the ferry,” he agreed.

I didn’t argue, just turned around and headed back outside, following him to the correct ferry. Sure enough, two green folders and a fon disk were tucked under his arm.

I stayed quiet until we had somehow managed to fit an adult liger, an Aegis kitten who wasn’t that small anymore (even if she fit on Twilight’s head), a baby liger not much smaller than Valkyria, a cheagle (although Mieu is very small), and eight humans into one cabin.

Jade, Luke, Dark, and Ion sat around the central table, with Guy leaning against one wall, Anise up on a bunk, Tear standing against the ladder, and me hovering over Jade’s shoulder. Twilight was curled up in a corner with the other three monsters/cat around/on him.

“By the way, Kairi, what did the Dark Wings have to say?” Jade asked. I crossed my arms.

“Sync’s alive, alright. In fact, he was probably in the coach with them when they dropped Rotelro Bridge. And not just him. He’s got Reighn with him,” I replied. “They should already be in Baticul. With any luck, we’ll be able to catch them before they run off. That having been said... Dark, you might want to check your old escape route, because Noir said she heard Sync muttering something about a factory.”

Dark groaned. “Great...”

Ion frowned. “You forgot to mention something.”

I shrugged. “What? I was sending a letter to Nephry. I’d have sent one to Natalia, but that’s a bit pointless, since we’re heading in that direction,” I lied. Well, not completely. I had sent a letter to Nephry. Then I tilted my head to the side to look thoughtful. “I should probably write to Selenia too...”

Dark sighed. “Okay, next subject?” he prompted. Jade frowned and reached forward, pulling the two folders forward.

Then, as he was about to open them, he paused, mind snagging onto mine as he finally noticed something. *Any particular reason why you’ve been doing this for the last ten minutes?*

I fought back the cringe. “Mind if I look?”

Jade handed over the folders without a word, just in time for Twilight to blast the door.

“Hey!”

“Sorry!” I called over my shoulder, having pushed Luke over in my hurry. Twilight and Valkyria were on my heels as I raced up to the deck.

*What the hell are you doing!?*

Whoops, forgot Jade was connected. I briefly considered just snapping the connection, then sighed. *I repeat. I’m sorry.*

Then I cut it off, because there was an Oracle Knight running past me. That was good. They’d slow them down long enough for me to change.

I ducked into an empty cabin and pulled my bag out, stripping and putting the Oracle Knight uniform on as fast as I could. The telepathic field I was keeping spread over the ferry let me know that I still had plenty of time to reach Dist before Jade and the others caught up to me.

I stepped out of the cabin just in time to have a Kimlascan soldier recognize my uniform and attack. As much as I didn’t want to have to hurt anyone, since I wasn’t actually an Oracle Knight, I didn’t bother to hold back. I didn’t want to die before I could get my group back together.

The Kimlascan fell to the ground, and I started walking, then running, toward the deck as I felt the others catching up. Once on the deck, I tentatively touched Luke’s mind, then, realizing they’d found the body I’d left behind and that they were very, very close, I pulled out, walking around to where Dist would be waiting.

Once on the back of the ferry, Dist dropped down in front of me. “Did you get the documents?”

I nodded. “Yes, but they’re right behind me, since I stopped to change,” I said, holding the folders out. Just in time for a planned bit of dramatic entrance.

“Kairi?!” Yes, that one was Luke.

“For someone with such a bad record with Daath, I never expected to see you wearing an Oracle Knights uniform.” This one was Dark. And it was said very coldly, too.

Dist accepted the folders as I turned around, Valkyria on one side and Twilight on the other. “I’ve been undercover since before you met me,” I stated. I didn’t have to latch onto Luke’s mind to know that I was giving them a glare as cold and hard as the one Dark was giving me. “Kairi Balfour never existed... Though I’ll have to thank Viscount Osborne for helping me decide on my alias.”

“You never sent a letter to my sister, did you? You were reporting to Dist instead,” Jade stated. I didn’t bother to correct him, because then I’d be blowing my cover.

I had written a letter, actually... warning Nephry to disregard anything Jade or Dark wrote to her about me over the course of the next month or so, which is how long I figured I had until Akzeriuth’s destruction. By then, I planned to be very _not_ involved with the Oracle Knights, aside from killing them.

I was right, though.

Jade was fighting back the heartache, even though my apologies should have told him just whose side I really was on. Oh well. He’d figure it out soon enough.

“Now then, since I’ve managed to retrieve these, I think it would be a wonderful time for the major and myself to leave,” Dist said.

Perhaps if he hadn’t said that out loud and had just quietly pulled us away, Jade wouldn’t have gotten pissed off.

I jumped back, barely avoiding the spear that was now stuck in the deck of the ferry. Well, hadn’t expected that to happen.

Luke seemed to take that as his cue to attack, and he and Guy rushed in, even as I drew my sword. Sorylle came running at us too, only to be knocked to the ground by Valkyria. The two were about the same size, so I figured Valkyria wouldn’t have too much trouble with her.

Then came the distinctive ‘thump’ of Dist bringing out one of his fonic robots.

“Anise, keep that liger occupied! Dark, Guy, the major! Tear, you’re our healer, stay back with Ion. Luke, help me with the bot!” Jade said quickly, already in a casting stance. This was one thing I’d been worried about, but... Oh good. “O violent torrent! Splash!”

I blocked another strike from Guy, then managed to kick him away from me before I got moving again.

Dark didn’t have his guns on the max setting because he wouldn’t risk hitting Guy, but he was still a good enough shot that a number of them hit me too. I knew I’d only be able to take so much at a time, and I didn’t want him to hit me too much.

I ducked under another slash from Guy and struck out with a Reaper’s Toll. It was a good thing I could do that with my right hand, because I needed the sword a moment later to block Guy’s attempt at a counter-attack.

I’m not sure how long we went about this, with me dancing around Guy’s attacks, hoping I wouldn’t get hit by Dark too much, before Dist’s robot fell to pieces and Luke sent the God-General flying with a Raging Blast.

I briefly contemplated just saying ‘fuck this’ and surrendering, since Dist wouldn’t be able to see, but then I remembered the half-formed plan I already had in place.

With that in mind, I tucked and rolled out of the way of another Splash, this one sent my direction.

“Luke, help Anise with the liger,” Jade ordered. The redhead scowled, but did as he was told, probably assuming he’d take Twilight down before me.

I jumped up, back-flipping away from a Stalagmite and then ducking under Guy’s blade. A kick out to the side tripped him up for only a moment, and I used that to my advantage, since Valkyria had just managed to knock Sorylle out and was next to me again.

“Guardian Field!”

“That’s one of Master Van’s artes!”

I rolled my eyes, sending a Demon Fang his way in irritation.

The next Splash missed me by almost a foot, even though I’d just barely started moving.

“Jade?!”

I glanced up at the wide crimson eyes of my brother and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Jade glanced over at Anise and Luke. “Anise, switch me targets.”

Guy shot an incredulous look over his shoulder, and I smirked, making use of his distraction to get a good slash in on his upper arm.

Anise then made herself known as a serious annoyance. “Feel the hammer of light! Limited!”

I jumped to the side, but not fast enough. The blast of light caught my right leg... Or more correctly, my right knee.

“Son of a— Shit!” I cursed, having to jump back from Guy’s most recent swing. The next one came in toward my head, and I raised my sword to block it.

I saw Tokunaga’s arm coming in from the left just a little too late, and didn’t move fast enough to avoid it. She’d been aiming for my elbow, but ended up hitting—and breaking, if the veritable explosion of pain was any indication—my forearm.

Let me remind you that this was my left arm.

My _sword arm_.

“Fuck!”

“Screeeee!”

I glanced up, grabbed and awkwardly sheathed my sword with my right hand, and reached up for the griffin. Another dropped long enough to grab Valkyria, and a third barely managed to pick up Twilight. However, land was clearly in sight, so it wouldn’t have to carry the liger long.

And, along with land, came the sight of a very familiar landship.

The griffins dropped us on the deck, and Dist showed up a minute later. Legretta stood across from us.

“Major Zephyr, Dist.”

Dist smirked. “Information recovered. I only took one platoon in addition to the major, more as a distraction than anything else,” he said. Legretta nodded, then turned to me as Asch walked over as casually as he could, once again in full God-General uniform.

“Very well then. Major, anything you’d like to report?”

I frowned. “No, ma’am. I wasn’t with them long enough to gather any information. I’d just like to find a healer right now.”

“Why?”

I resisted the urge to smile, which became ridiculously easy to do when I remembered who was responsible for my current pain. “My left arm is broken and my right knee is acting up. I’m not completely sure why, but I’m going to assume it’s an old wound, one that’s been aggravated,” I said, still completely business-like.

Asch’s eyes widened slightly and he looked up at Legretta. “I’ll escort her to the infirmary. I’d been planning on talking to the healers anyway,” he said. Legretta’s eyes narrowed a bit before she nodded.

“Very well,” she agreed. Then she turned to me. “I want a full report on my desk by morning,” she added.

Dist scowled as she left. “Her left arm is her dominant arm. She won’t be able to write,” he called after the blonde. I thought I heard Legretta growl.

“Then she can give it to you orally and you can write it!”

Dist chuckled and turned to me with a wink. “Don’t worry about that report. Consider this a reward for surviving Jade’s wrath without me for ten minutes.”

I wasn’t sure whether to openly gape at his retreating chair or just faint.

Asch was definitely doing the former.

I snickered at the look on his face quietly, and it finally faded as irritation at being laughed at overpowered it.

I was already headed to the infirmary, though, so Asch had to jog to catch up.

“So, where’d the liger and Aegis cat come from?” he asked. I sighed.

“Valkyria, the cat, is a present I received from Peony right before my kidnapping. Valkyria, this is Asch,” I said. Valkyria mewed, and I nodded toward Twilight, since he was on my left. “This is Twilight. He’s a western clan liger who was kicked out for befriending an eastern clan liger. Since he doesn’t mind easterners, I figured he’d be fine around Dark and his new liger, Sorylle.”

“What happened to Koran?”

I bit my lip. “Koran’s dead.”

Asch looked away. “I’m sorry.”

“What did I tell you about apologizing for something that wasn’t your fault?”

“But I was the one keeping us away from Baticul. You could’ve seen him more than just the two times if I hadn’t—“

“Asch.”

The redhead stopped with a sigh, and I stuffed my right hand into a hidden pocket. “By the way, Sync’s alive.”

I couldn’t help but snicker as I continued along my way to the infirmary. Twilight, bless his soul, was worried enough about my friend to pause and nudge the redhead (since he’d gone and tripped and hadn’t gotten up again yet), but I figured he’d get up again soon enough.

As if to prove me right, Asch was running to catch up to me just as I opened the door to the infirmary. I poked his mind and he latched on faster than I’d expected.

*Where is he?!*

I smiled at the Oracle Knight who walked up to me, though it was very strained. “I need my arm set and bandaged, maybe even put in a cast if it’s bad enough,” I said quickly. The healer sighed.

“What’d you do? Start sparring with one of Arietta’s ligers?”

I sighed. “Nope. Her archenemy. And it wasn’t a friendly spar, either. Also, it’d be nice if you could check my knee while you’re at it. I think I might have aggravated an old wound,” I said. Asch frowned.

*Old wound? You have a lot of explaining to do.*

*Don’t remind me,* I muttered as the healer led me over to a table.

“I take it you’re here to try to learn healing artes, as you mentioned earlier this week?” the medic continued, this time addressing Asch. I blinked.

*What?* Asch asked.

I shook my head.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Upon realizing that Kairi wasn’t a seventh fonist in this story... I realized that I needed_ someone _to act the part of the healer. Dark wasn’t an option (due to his fonic arte problems), Selenia wasn’t an option (not a seventh fonist), and I didn’t want to land Reighn with being the only healer in their group. So I sat Asch and Sync down for rock-paper-scissors... And Sync rage-quit before Asch volunteered. Hehe... That was an interesting mental conversation._


	19. Chapter 2.10 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention that this is one of the longest arcs of Re:AST? Because it is.

_“Lieutenant?! You’re in the military?!” –Luke_

_“Sorylle and I were having a good laugh at Mohs’ expense.” –Dark_

_“I don’t see how this is relevant to... anything, honestly.” –Jade_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“Welcome to Baticul,” I muttered, not really aiming for anyone to hear. I spotted the duo of officers heading our way and resisted the urge to growl about annoyances, instead walking forward to meet them. The others followed behind me, and I know all of them with the possible exception of Guy were shocked to watch me click my heels together and salute.

“Brigadier General Cecile, General Goldberg,” I greeted the two of them.

Cecille and Goldberg nodded to me. “First Lieutenant Daemione,” Cecille replied curtly.

I swear, I’d have busted up laughing at the look on Luke’s face if I hadn’t been in the presence of two of my superior officers.

“Lieutenant?! You’re in the military?!”

Apparently Jade found the whole thing amusing, because I could see his shoulders shaking, as if the shit-eating grin on his face wasn’t bad enough. I sighed, clenching my fists and silently promising him a world of hurt later.

“It was a stipulation to becoming Princess Natalia’s bodyguard,” I ground out.

It didn’t help that Guy was smirking too as Luke tried (and failed) to regain his mental footing. Goldberg chose then to clear his throat and catch everyone’s attention.

“I am Goldberg, commander of the 1st Division, Kimlasca-Lanvaldear Royal Forces. Congratulations on your safe return,” he said, addressing Luke. “A carrier pigeon arrived with a message from Count Almandine. He said you were traveling with an emissary of peace from the Malkuth Empire.”

It took me a minute to remember that Luke and Van had gone to talk to Almandine after the Choral Castle mess.

Ion stepped forward then. “I’m Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. I bear a letter from his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Peony the Ninth of the Malkuth Empire. May I ask an audience with His Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth?” he said, very diplomatically. In fact, his tone of voice managed to lull me into ‘false attentive mode’. AKA, I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to what was being said as introductions came around and Goldberg and Cecille got caught up in the shock of Jade being in Baticul as the Emperor’s personal confidant.

“Hold on!”

Luke’s exclamation brought my attention back to the present.

“Ion asked me to speak to Uncle on his behalf. I’m taking him to the castle.”

I smiled ever so slightly, and Luke saw it, I know, because where his confidence had started to waver under Goldberg’s stare, it became solid again.

“Thank you, Luke. I appreciate the support,” Ion said as Goldberg took a deep breath.

“Understood. In that case, I shall send General Cecille to inform His Grace, Duke Fabre. If you would, General Cecille,” he said, amending her original orders.

“Yes, sir.”

“Lieutenant Daemione, I can assume this marks the end of your vacation?”

Ah, now I remember why I don’t like Goldberg.

“Yes, sir,” I ground out. Goldberg nodded and walked away, and I gave into the childish urge to shake my fist after him.

Anise giggled. “I take it you don’t get along well with him?” she guessed. I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t do well with structured command chains. Not after living my whole life with no one to answer to but Koran... if he even counts. So, yeah. I’m glad Natalia doesn’t force me to deal with all the military shit on a regular basis... No offense to the three of you who are soldiers,” I added quickly, remembering that both girls and Jade were in the military as well.

“Alright, then. If you’d show us the way, Luke?” Ion prompted.

“Oh, right. Let’s go!”

The nine of us (if you count Sorylle and Mieu, which I do) managed to fit on one aircar, and once we’d gotten off, Luke stopped to look around.

“What’s up with you? You’re acting like you’ve never seen Baticul before,” Tear said.

Luke shrugged. “Aside from burying Koran a couple months ago, I haven’t been out of the manor since the kidnapping. And I wasn’t exactly looking around the one time,” he replied. I cringed.

“Right... Well, enjoy the sights. I’m heading on up. I trust Tear and Guy to keep an eye on you, and I need to report to Natalia,” I said, walking off and leaving the others behind.

I noted the interesting additions of Noir, York, and Urushi to the normal landscape, and wondered just when they’d gotten here. We’d taken the only ferry, right?

I rolled my eyes, figuring they’d just managed to slip around us on the ferry ride. We hadn’t been the first ones off, after all.

“So, we’re leaving them to catch up?” Sorylle asked. I nodded.

“Yeah.” The two of us stepped onto the lift and it went hurtling up into the sky. “I need to go change, and then we have to find the girl I work for.”

“What do you do?”

I sighed and leaned against the railing inside the lift as I explained the full parameters of my job to the young liger. “Mind you,” I was saying as we stepped off the lift. “Most of the time I just end up following her around. Not a lot of people seem to be stupid enough to attack her. Especially since word’s gotten out that I’m her guard.”

“Sounds boring to me,” Sorylle said bluntly. I chuckled, stepping into the castle with her on my heels.

“It’s worst when she’s in a meeting and I have to stand there like a statue for hours. Koran would usually either nap through them or run off to find Luke,” I admitted.

Sorylle was quiet for the rest of the walk up to Natalia’s chambers, and once there, I made short work of changing my clothes. I pointed her over to what had been Koran’s nest, and she went about rearranging the sticks and leaves to her preference.

I stepped back out of my room wearing gray boots, loose black pants, an ice blue turtleneck, and a white, short-sleeved coat that fell to my knees. Sorylle sniffed around a few times before she followed me back down to the lobby.

“They’re up there,” she growled, looking up toward the audience hall. I’d been planning on heading there anyway, so I nodded and raced up the steps as Luke pushed the doors open and headed in. I frowned, getting a bit of a bad feeling about this.

“The Malkuth Empire is strengthening the defenses in their capital, Grand Chokmah,” I heard Mohs saying. I was full-out running, so I ended up overtaking the group before any of them noticed me.

“Bullshit!” I yelled, having come to a stop.

Mohs turned, his eyes widening. “You!”

“Dark, stand down!” Ingobert ordered.

“How dare you?!” Alpine grumbled. “Who gave you permission to enter the hall?!”

My glare, which was at a level I usually reserve only for Mohs, was directed to him. “I don’t need your permission, Alpine. And even if I did, Luke’s the one who opened the door.”

“Settle down!” Ingobert said as Luke and the others finally made it down to our end of the audience hall. “Ah, Luke. I heard what happened. I’m glad to see you back safely from Malkuth. Then, the people beside you must be...”

“Fon Master Ion, of the Order of Lorelei, and Jade, from the Malkuth Military,” Luke said, not really looking at his uncle. I didn’t blame him. I’d want to keep an eye on me too, if I were standing in his position, what with the way Mohs and I were trying to murder each other with our glares.

“It is an honor to see you again, Your Majesty. I am Ion,” Ion spoke up from behind me, startling Mohs into breaking our staring contest.

“Fon Master... W-we’ve been looking for you...” he started.

“Mohs, we will speak later.” I smirked as Ion cut him off before the green-haired teen turned to Ingobert again. “Your Majesty, this is Colonel Jade Curtiss. He represents His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth.” And, back to diplomat mode. Kudos to Ion for his patience. Maybe he could teach Sync a little of that, since Kairi’s spilled the beans that he’s alive...

“I am honored to be in your presence,” Jade said as he knelt. I blinked.

‘Well, it’s obvious that he’s more experienced in royal-butt-kissery than Kairi.’

That thought, in the middle of the tense situation I was currently in, would have been enough to send me into a fit of laughter were it not for Luke bringing my attention back to the fact that Mohs was in the vicinity.

“Uncle, I’m afraid I have to agree with Dark on this one. What Mohs was saying is nonsense. I was in Malkuth, and while we never made it as far as the capital, Engeve and St. Binah were completely peaceful,” Luke reported.

“Wh-what did you say?!” Mohs spluttered. “I’m merely trying to convey to His Majesty the threat that Malkuth—“

I snorted, causing Mohs to pause and glare at me. “You heard him. And I know you heard me when I called you out on the bullshit the first time.”

“You—!”

“Shut up!” This time it was Luke to stop him. “All I know about you is that you’re holding a ridiculous grudge against Dark because of your own idiocy and you’re trying to start a war. I’ve barely even met you and I’m sick of you already!”

“Luke, calm down. The letter from Malkuth has made it here, I won’t ignore it,” Ingobert said, breaking up what might have devolved into a fist fight between Mohs and Luke. That would have been amusing, at least. “You all must be tired from your long journey. Please, get some rest,” he added, this time addressing the others. Then he looked at me. “Dark, Luke, Susanne has fallen ill.”

“Mother’s sick?!”

I sighed, most of the irritation at Mohs fading. “You’ve sent Natalia in your place?” I guessed. Ingobert nodded, and I sighed, stood at attention, saluted, and left without another word. Or I meant to, at least.

“Why did you not put that foolish Beta in his place?”

I bit my lip to avoid laughing in Mohs’ presence.

“By the way, Dark.”

I stopped and turned back to the others.

“When were you planning to tell me you’d picked up a new partner?” Ingobert continued. If I’d been closer, I probably would have spotted a twinkle in his eye, one he’d picked up as he realized how much of an overgrown housecat Koran was.

I smirked. “I’ll introduce you this evening,” I said before turning and continuing out of the hall. Not before I heard him chuckle, though.

Once we were tucked into a corner of the lobby (the one where Reighn had delivered the news, I realized belatedly), I gave in and laughed.

“Oh, Sorylle, you sweet little pup...”

“What? What did I say?” she asked, looking up at me with wide eyes. I shook my head.

“Mohs doesn’t know he’s only a Beta. He thinks he’s an Alpha. Ion’s never told him otherwise,” I said. Sorylle growled low in her throat.

“Even so, he should be showing respect for you as a fellow Alpha.”

I just kept laughing. “If only things were so simple, my dear. Mohs can’t sense rank the way a liger can,” I said. Sorylle seemed to finally understand what I was saying, which managed to piss her off.

“He thinks you’re just a lowly Omega! Why that son of a half-cheagle, mandractus-eating—“

I put a hand on the young liger’s head. “Now, now. There are some advantages to being underestimated,” I said.

“Humph. Listen to you. Growling to that liger like you can actually understand it.”

I sighed, semi-good mood fading in an instant. “I can, asshat.”

“E-excuse me?!”

I glared at him, stood, and put my hands on my hips. “I can understand _her_ ,” I said, emphasizing her gender. “It’s a rare ability, but Arietta isn’t unique. Now, to use a few liger terms... if you’ll excuse this Alpha, I have a zena to report to. Another Alpha at that, so I’d best not keep her waiting.”

Mohs stared after me in shock as I stalked past him... just in time to join up with Luke and the others. Thankfully, none of them mentioned anything until we were standing outside on the steps into the castle.

“For the amount of time you had for a head start, you certainly didn’t make it far, Dark.”

I shrugged. “Sorylle and I were having a good laugh at Mohs’ expense,” I admitted.

“Oh?” Ion asked. I smirked.

“Ligers have ranks of Alpha, Beta, Omega, etc. similar to wolf packs. There’s no limit to the number of each rank per pack, but your rank is decided from birth,” I explained. “Koran was an Alpha, and since he always treated me as an equal, we figured I was one too. Alpha and Beta ligers have a sense for figuring out ranks, and females have an easier time with this than males.”

Luke smirked. “I take it Mohs isn’t really as high and mighty as he’s acting.”

I shrugged. “At least he’s a Beta. I don’t think I’d have been able to restrain Sorylle if he’d been Delta or lower,” I said.

“...By the way...”

I groaned. “Oh dear... Yes?”

“The green-furred is a Pi, the younger female is a Delta, the elder female is an Alpha, and the rest are Betas.”

I sighed in exasperation, then paused. “Wait... Pi?”

“Yes... Whatever that is. That’s the rank that keeps popping in my mind, at least,” Sorylle said.

“Is something wrong?” Ion asked. I put my hands on my hips and shook my head slowly.

“No, Sorylle just rattled off all of your ranks, if you were ligers, and... well. One of them is so rare there’s usually only one for an entire clan. And each of the three clans has anywhere from ten to thirty packs at a given time,” I said. “Pi ligers act as... well, you know the old legends about nomadic tribes?”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I don’t see how this is relevant to... anything, honestly.”

I rolled my eyes. “The tribes each had a shaman, who was an elder or medicine man or whatever, right? That’s kind of what the Pi rank is for the ligers,” I continued. I looked over at Ion. “Pi is the only rank that can overrule Alpha.”

The rest of them took a few moments to digest that information. Now that I’d popped off with that, Jade seemed to be more curious than annoyed.

“So, what are the rest of us?” Anise asked. I pointed to her first.

“Delta.” Tear came next. “Alpha.” Then I pointed to Ion. “I’ve already mentioned he’s a Pi.” I sighed and crossed my arms then. “And the rest of you are Betas.”

“What?! That means I’m the lowest rank!”

If nothing else, at least we all got a good laugh out of Anise’s misfortune.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I actually came back to this chapter just this morning (10/31/14) to look at ranks because it came up again in 6.6, which is the part I’m writing right now..._


	20. Chapter 2.11 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, time for a break. Five in a row's not bad.
> 
> Dark and Jade annoying each other is just... -sighs- ...I actually kinda miss it a little.

_“Oh yes, her scent tells me she was very ‘worried.’” –Sorylle_

_“Colonel... what happened to your ‘plausible deniability’?” –Anise_

_“Finish that and I will string your intestines on my mantle.” –Jade_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“Luke!”

“Ugh...”

“What kind of attitude is that?! Do you realize how worried I was?!”

“Oh yes, her scent tells me she was very ‘worried.’”

I couldn’t help it, I snorted at Sorylle’s comment.

“Dark! I thought you were in Malkuth!”

I sighed, running a hand through my bangs, and then pointed to the redhead Natalia was standing in front of. “So, I was in a coach, headed for Engeve, and we hit a bump and the jug with the drinking water fell off.” Natalia blinked a few times, and I raised my hand in a ‘hold on’ gesture. “The coachman decides to go fill the spare jug at the stream in Tataroo Valley. And, since I know there are monsters there, I can’t in good conscience let him go alone. Alas, my ‘vacation’ really only lasted about twenty-four hours, since I had to deal with your cousin the rest of the time.”

Luke scowled. “You’re the one who conveniently failed to mention the fact that you were headed in the opposite direction from Baticul,” he said. I shrugged.

“So? Your dad looked amused.”

“More because of Jade’s comment than yours.”

Natalia looked back and forth between me and Luke before she sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you two.”

“Lock them up?”

I kicked Sorylle—gently—for that comment, since she was too small for me to elbow her like I would have Koran. The exchange brought her to Natalia’s attention, though, and she looked surprised.

“Oh? Who’s this?”

I smiled, bent down, lifted Sorylle (who was easily twice the size she’d been in the Cheagle Woods, mind you) and held her out like a little kid who’d picked up a puppy off the streets and brought it home to his parents.

Well, it was a fitting analogy, given that Natalia had the final yay or nay on if she could stay.

“Princess, this is Sorylle. Sorylle, Princess Natalia, my boss,” I said by way of introduction.

Sorylle and Natalia stared at each other for a few moments before Sorylle mewed a meek ‘hello.’

Natalia’s blank, ‘what in the world?’ expression melted as she seemed to register the scene in front of her as ‘cute.’ I know, because I recognize that expression.

And then she shocked me into almost dropping the young liger in my arms.

“Hello.”

Sorylle yipped at me as I fumbled her, and I end up hugging her to my chest with an apologetic growl. I looked up at Natalia, who was looking extremely worried now.

“Oh... Did I not do it correctly...?” she asked, assuming she’d said something rude, probably. I blinked a few times before swallowing and shaking my head.

“No... In fact... That was perfect...” I said. “Ah... When’d you learn to...?”

Natalia’s face flushed pink. “I may have talked Koran into helping me learn a few basic words and phrases whenever you were busy...” she said, looking very much like a shy schoolgirl.

“Hm... And here you were teasing me about a God-General...”

I give myself credit for calmly placing Sorylle on the ground before stalking over to Jade and nailing the smirking bastard in the gut.

Maybe he shouldn’t have had his eyes closed.

“Dark!” Guy was trying to sound scolding, but I could hear that hint of laughter in his tone. “Socking the emissary of peace from Malkuth in the gut isn’t the greatest way to smooth over relations between them and Kimlasca!”

I chuckled darkly. “He’s had it coming to him to him since the docks.”

Jade couldn’t even have the decency to look hurt, the dumbass. He just stood there looking smug as ever. “Yes. And you shouldn’t pick on frail old men anyway.”

I raised an eyebrow.

And then proceeded to punch him again.

This time in the face.

I couldn’t help but... ugh, dare I call it giggle? Either way, any protest Natalia was about to put up was silenced, and if the odd stares I was getting were any indication, I was definitely giving off a nice aura of ‘psycho.’ Ah... I hadn’t gotten to do this in a while.

“’Frail old man’ my ass,” I said. “I almost wish Kairi wasn’t busy. I’d love to hear some of what she could come up with for that one...”

“Dark... Are you okay?”

I frowned and turned, realizing that Natalia was looking at me like I’d _really_ gone off my rocker. Then I realized.

“Oh! Kairi’s still alive,” I said bluntly. “She’s currently acting as a double-agent.”

“Are you sure about that one?”

Jade and I both looked at Luke, shocked that he’d been the one to speak up. “What do you mean?” Jade asked. Luke clenched his fists, and looked away from us.

“How do we know she wasn’t telling the truth on the ferry? She certainly didn’t seem to have any problems with delivering those folders to Dist,” he said, a hint of bitterness underneath. I cringed. So that’s what was up. “And why did you hand them over to her anyway? I saw you hesitate and look her way before she even asked to see them, Jade.”

I didn’t even have to see Jade to know he’d gone rigid from that comment.

“What are you talking about?”

Luke turned around to glare at him, and I realized that there were only two things scarier than the glare of Crimson Fabre.

The glares of his sons.

“On the ferry, you reached for the folders, went to open one, and paused. Your eyes drifted off to your right, and Kairi was standing behind your right shoulder. All at least twenty seconds _before_ she asked to look at the folders!”

I mentally cursed at myself for training Luke to be so observant before I looked up at Jade. “I take it you latched on?” I asked. I’d noticed it too, that odd feeling floating on the edge of my consciousness.

The way Jade openly flinched told me everything I needed to know.

“Did she tell you?” I asked. Jade adjusted his glasses, trying to regain some semblance of control... over himself, if nothing else.

“No, not really. She just apologized... repeatedly.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?!”

This time, Jade and I cringed together. I stuffed my hands in my pockets as I looked over the group. Natalia, Luke, Jade, Guy, Tear, Anise, Ion, Sorylle, Mieu, myself...

I realized then that, aside from myself and Sorylle, I’d just listed off the ‘Abyss group’ as Kairi had told me months ago. My eyes widened slightly as I contemplated this, before I nodded to myself, steeling my resolve.

“Kairi’s telepathic.”

“Dark!”

“She was going to tell them anyway.”

“That’s not the point.”

“And I will take the heat for it when she finds out.”

“...You understand you’ve basically signed your own death certificate, yes?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Very well.”

“Where are you going?”

“Plausible deniability.”

“Ah. Okay. See ya.”

I turned back to the rest of the group, and needless to say, the expressions ranged from ‘what the hell just happened?’ to ‘you’ve got to be kidding me.’ I crossed my arms, waiting for someone to speak up. It wouldn’t take long, I knew that, but I was going to stand here and enjoy the funny faces until then.

“You don’t seriously expect us to believe that, do you?”

Predictably, this came from Tear. I smirked.

“Well, the thirty-five-year-old colonel just walked out of the room so he can claim that he had nothing to do with you all finding out about his little sister’s ability, so...” I trailed off and watched as she digested that bit of logic. Natalia, on the other hand, sighed.

“No, it makes sense. All those times she seemed to know we were there before she should have, some of the things she said, like she knew us even though she’d just met us...” she started. Guy nodded.

“And that’s not even including what we’ve seen on our journey. Jade’s seemingly easy acceptance of the fact that his little sister is working with the Oracle Knights being one of them,” he said. Tear sighed.

“Yes, and she was chuckling at something none of the rest of us could make sense of when she was cornered on the Tartarus. Didn’t Cantabile say Asch was onboard later?” she asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. And Asch and Sync are the only two people aside from myself and Jade who knew before this,” I admitted.

Ion smirked, a very Sync-esque expression that had a shiver running down my spine. “I just realized... That first day on the Tartarus... You were dropping hints all over the place about her telepathy. I remember one time in particular while we were walking around, you started chuckling, and when I asked you what was so funny you said...”

“’Kairi. Thoughts of her pop up with about as much warning as she herself does.’ Yeah, she wasn’t too amused by all the hints I was dropping,” I admitted. Then I snapped. “Oh! Luke, remember the comment she made about me forfeiting my right to candy? And how I said later I’d jinxed her?”

Luke nodded. I smirked. “She contacted me and Jade while we were in Choral Castle, and I made the comment about her getting an assignment from the God-Generals that would keep her away from the Tartarus then.”

Luke sighed. “That... explains so much.”

“She also had a field spread over the entire ferry,” I said.

“Huh?”

I smiled sadly. “Kairi. She had a telepathic field, a very loose one at that, mind you, spread over the entire ferry. My guess is, she’s been using telepathy to communicate with Twilight this whole time, too,” I said. “I felt her field on the edges of my mind, but I didn’t bother to latch onto it.”

Natalia’s eyes widened. “That’s what you meant earlier by ‘you latched on’ when you were talking to Jade, wasn’t it?”

Luke crossed his arms. “So, he was going to open the folders, but latched onto Kairi’s field... what would that do, anyway?” he asked. I smirked.

“It opens a telepathic channel. He probably latched on and asked her why she’d been doing it for so long.”

“Which she followed up with asking, out loud, to see the folders,” Luke guessed. “Did Jade even suspect that she was gonna run off like that, though?”

I frowned and opened my mouth, but didn’t get a chance to answer.

“No.”

Anise giggled. “Colonel... what happened to your ‘plausible deniability’?” she teased. Jade sighed.

“I figured at this point, my grave’s already been dug. Might as well help make the coffin,” he said. “And no... Honestly, since Kairi was supposed to be acting as an informant, I didn’t think Dist would pull her out so quickly. I guess he really didn’t want me reading those files.”

“Informant?”

We all looked at Natalia, and I sighed. “Kairi got separated from us on the Tartarus, and ended up going after Van on her own.”

“What? Why’d she go after Master Van?” Luke asked. Jade and I exchanged a look before I crossed my arms.

“Kairi got into the position she’s in now because the God-Generals believe she’s suffering from amnesia, a side-effect of head trauma dealt to her by none other than the Dorian General. Also, Kairi has information that points to Van as being responsible for Sync’s near-death. And I believe we’ve already mentioned her feelings regarding Sync and Asch,” I said. “Oh!”

I then turned to Natalia and smirked. “And I now have a name for our stranger, who was probably following orders from Sync when he told us it had been murder, rather than an accident,” I told her. She raised an eyebrow. “Reighn.”

Jade frowned. “Reighn... Reighn Aurelius?”

Now it was Anise’s turn to look shocked. “What?! No way! You can’t be talking about... Okay, a guy about Guy’s height, long blue hair, and—“

“Silver eyes?” Natalia, Jade and I chorused. While the three of us glanced between each other in amusement, Anise’s eyes widened almost comically.

“You’ve actually met him?! Really actually met him?!”

“What the hell’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Luke asked, looking at her like she’d turned into some new species of glowing monster. Tear looked wary too, while Ion...

“Reighn Aurelius was the head of my Fon Master Guardians for five years. He served Evenos as such for a year before me, and had been serving as a Fon Master Guard before then for Evenos, ever since he was ten,” Ion explained. “He retired two years ago, and the position was supposed to go to his long-time partner, Starlorne Arlynde, but she disappeared out of Daath, and the next most eligible, Arietta, was moved into a different division. The position’s been empty since then.”

I crossed my arms. “How old is he, exactly?” I asked. Ion looked thoughtful.

“He should be twenty-two.”

Tear looked surprised, and Anise sighed. “Head of the Fon Master Guardians at fourteen. That’s impressive, and something I kinda hope to achieve,” she admitted. “Most of us aspire to reach his level, but really, Reighn’s something of a mystery. No one seems to know why he left or where he went.”

It was quiet for a while as we all processed this information. Then I sighed and turned to Natalia. “Well, Your Highness? It’s been a long day and I personally would like to get some sleep, since I have every intention of wandering around Baticul and trying to find Sync and Reighn tomorrow.”

Natalia raised an eyebrow. “They’re here in Baticul?”

I shrugged. “Kairi said they took the ferry before us. With any luck, they’ll still be here, yes. But, you’re probably going to be in a meeting tomorrow, regarding the letter we delivered to your father earlier, so I figure I might as well use the time to do something a bit more productive than usual... no offence...”

Natalia sighed. “None taken. I didn’t blame Koran for running off during those meetings and I won’t blame you for doing the same, especially if Sync is in Baticul,” she said.

And this is why I seriously love my job. My employer is _so_ understanding.

“Are you absolutely certain there is nothing but a business relationship between the two of you?”

I smirked, and any comment Natalia was about to make was silenced in favor of a worried and very understandably cautious look.

“Jade and Cantabile, sittin’ in a tree...”

“Finish that and I will string your intestines on my mantle.”

I put a finger to my lips, as if I was actually thinking about it.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

I don’t think Ramdas was expecting me to run cackling out of the manor with a pink-faced Jade on my heels. Oh, did I mention he had his spear out?

Were it not for the fact that I knew Ramdas knew better than to make assumptions, I’d have been worried for Jade’s freedom.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The thing with Jade and Dark was a running gag that actually started (in my mind) as soon as I decided to write Cantabile forcing Jade onto the dance floor at Asch’s birthday party. It will be popping up plenty in the future. (And their teasing of each other is the reason why throwing Kairi and Reighn into the mix is so dangerous.)_


	21. Chapter 2.12 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epic slowness and failure of monthly goals, go!
> 
> Okay, no, seriously though. I will get this goal this month if it's the last thing I do before starting Camp NaNo at midnight April 1st.

_“You know, Dark, pranking emissaries of peace usually isn’t the best way to start off negotiations.” –Natalia_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

Mohs is a bastard. A rotten, slimy git of a bastard.

But I knew this already.

I should have expected him to pull something. Talking Ingobert into calling an emergency assembly without Natalia (and therefore without me to call his bullshit)? Completely believable, for him.

So I really shouldn’t have been surprised when Natalia said we would be gathering in the audience hall to discuss the letter the next morning. And really, I wasn’t surprised he had done it.

More that he had managed to do it so quickly.

I flipped the switch on my gun and smirked as it whirred to life, before I obediently put it away in the holster on my leg. Much as I’d love to shoot Mohs right through that inflated head of his, I don’t think Natalia would appreciate the blood and brains smeared all over the floor that would come as a result.

“Ah, Jade. Enjoy your sleep?”

The withering glare he sent me only served to improve my mood... which was a good thing, since it plummeted every time I thought of Mohs. And to think, he’d probably be joining us in a few minutes.

“You know, Dark, pranking emissaries of peace usually isn’t the best way to start off negotiations,” Natalia said quietly.

I chuckled. “He’s Kairi’s brother. Besides... it’s fun, watching him lose his cool,” I replied just as quietly.

Jade’s glare never shifted, and I just gave him my best attempt at an innocent smile.

All things considered, it probably looked like some evil demon had possessed me. I’ve been told many times that ‘innocent’ just doesn’t get along with my face.

“Ah. Luke.”

I glanced up and the smile faded into another glare. This time, the reason was obvious. Mohs.

I’ll admit it. I spaced out for most of the meeting. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention, though.

I’m not sure what was up with Mohs and Ingobert, but the minute Natalia’s father claimed there had been a request for aid in the letter from Malkuth, I had to stop and wonder.

I don’t remember much of Kairi’s explanation of Tales of the Abyss, but I do know one thing. Akzeriuth is where everything goes to hell. It’s what Kairi, Asch, and Sync were trying to prevent... I think.

That worried me. No, I wasn’t certain if whatever was going to happen in Akzeriuth was really what they were trying to stop. But if it was...

Kairi was currently playing double-agent.

Sync was somewhere in Baticul, probably with no idea how close we were to the upcoming disaster.

Asch was trapped onboard the Tartarus.

That meant that the only one of us free to act was me.

“Father, I really think I should go as an ambassador as well,” Natalia said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I frowned. If Natalia went, I’d at least have a damn good excuse for going.

“No.”

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Any more forceful and I’d have to call you out on it, Your Majesty,’ I commented in my head. ‘As it is...’

I noted the look on Natalia’s face. I knew that look. That was her scheming look.

A scheming Natalia is a dangerous Natalia.

Which meant we’d probably be going anyway.

“You become a lot more cooperative when Van is involved.”

“Shut up.”

I smirked, even though I was really starting to regret not paying attention. Because really, what did Van have to do with anything? I’d know if I hadn’t decided to think instead of listen.

“Very well. Luke, who do you wish to take with you? You should take Guy with you as your personal attendant.” Duke Fabre said.

Luke glanced up at me, and I nodded to Natalia ever so slightly. He sighed and shook his head. “If Guy and Master Van are coming, I guess there’s really no one else to ask for. Dark needs to stay with Natalia,” he said. Mohs nodded.

“The Order wishes to send Tear and Van with you as well,” he said.

I crossed my arms. “Give me an hour. I’ll see if I can’t get Reighn and Sync in too,” I said. My own way of trying to stall the leaving group.

Mohs turned to me in surprise. “Sync?”

I ignored him. Thankfully, so did everyone else.

“Alright, then. I’ll inform everyone to meet outside the inn, on the lower levels. Is that alright with everyone here?” Ingobert asked. I nodded along with Luke, Jade, and Tear.

Natalia and I left with the others, and once we were out in the lobby, Luke stopped us all.

“I’m going to go see Master Van. Dark... Were you being serious about Reighn and Sync?” he asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. I can’t really leave Natalia... but I’d been planning on tracking them down anyway,” I said. “Besides, green and blue hair should stand out in a crowd.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I’m going to go look into something. Do you all mind if we meet up in twenty minutes to discuss it? If I’m right, it shouldn’t be a problem if Sync and Reighn don’t hear it,” he said. Luke shrugged.

“That’s fine with me. I’m going to go see Master Van now,” he replied, before turning and walking off. I huffed at his impatience, only to have Natalia catch my sleeve as I attempted to walk away myself.

Jade and Tear made themselves scarce, thankfully, and I looked over at the blonde I was supposed to protect.

“I’m going to try to talk Luke into letting me come with him,” she said quietly. “There’s a box under your bed... with an early birthday present in it. You might want to go look before you leave. I’ll meet you down on the lower levels.”

I sighed, a little over-dramatically. “I’m not talking you out of this, am I?” I asked. Natalia smirked, and I chuckled. “Sorylle? Stay with Natalia, and stay out of trouble.”

Sorylle growled back, and I stuffed my hands in my pockets before nodding once to Natalia and heading back up to my room.

My birthday was still a couple weeks off, yes, but Natalia probably had the right idea. We’d still be in Malkuth by the time it came around, so she was trying to make sure I didn’t feel forgotten.

Honestly, it felt weirder knowing I had a present.

It didn’t take long, rooting around under my bed, to find the box. Rather large, all things considered, but when I opened it up, I understood why.

And had to resist the urge to break down crying.

The white coat and blue turtleneck combo I’d been wearing since becoming her bodyguard had been a matter of her telling me to buy something that wasn’t completely black, or else. And Alpine and a lot of others thought it was wrong that the Princess’ bodyguard wouldn’t wear even an officer’s uniform.

Natalia must have ordered them months ago, but the clothes in the box meant a lot more to me than most would guess.

I started changing automatically, stripping off loose black pants to exchange them for form-fitting white before pulling my boots back on, over them. My worn black holsters and straps were replaced with new, more comfortable brown. A light blue button-down shirt got tucked in so it wouldn’t get between me and my guns, which slipped into their new holsters like they’d always been there.

But it was the coat that really had me on the brink of tears. It was black, sleeveless, long, had a hood and pockets, and best of all?

Stitched on the back in gold was the insignia of House Lanvaldear, the symbol of Kimlasca.

I donned the coat with pride before frowning at the long sleeves of my shirt and rolling them up. Then, after tucking the box away back under the bed, I headed back out, passing Natalia on the way.

And stopped just inside the doors to eavesdrop.

“I’ve been informed of the situation. When do we leave?” I heard Van ask. This is the reason why I stopped to eavesdrop.

“Jade says he has a proposal about that,” Guy said. Probably something to do with what he mentioned earlier.

“I’m a little uncomfortable telling Dorian General Grants about it, but... Oh well.” Yeah, oh well. We’re stuck with him. “Oracle ships are watching the Central Ocean. It’s likely an attempt by the Grand Maestro faction to interfere.”

I frowned at that, even as Tear seemed ready to argue.

“It’s a fact,” Jade said, cutting her off. “Well, we don’t know it’s the Grand Maestro faction. At any rate, going by sea would be dangerous.”

“Then what do we do?” Luke asked. I crossed my arms. What, indeed. Wait...

“Let’s send a ship out as a decoy while we head to Chesedonia by land. The Rotelro Sea past Chesedonia is under Malkuth’s control. It won’t be difficult to head for Kaitzur by ship,” Jade said. I frowned. By land... And Sync was mentioning the factory? Damn...

“What?!”

I turned my attention outward again. “It’s been announced that I’ll be part of the aid team, yes? The Oracle Knights are more likely to consider the ship to contain the true group if I am onboard,” Van was saying. I frowned.

“That’s fine with me. We have no choice but to trust you regardless of what we do,” Jade said. I wasn’t comfortable, though.

Van’s argument seemed to be a good one, but... What if it was just an excuse to reach Akzeriuth before us and set up a trap?

Somehow, that wouldn’t surprise me.

I stood there thinking about it long enough that Natalia came down and stood next to me, just in time to hear an interesting bit of tease material for later.

“Hey, don’t give people the wrong idea. I love women!” Guy cried in response to something Luke had said.

“I’m not sure shouting declarations that you’re a womanizer is much better...” Tear said, though it was a little difficult to hear. Natalia and I exchanged looks before we broke down into laughter.

“Come on, we’ve still got half an hour before we meet the others. We should go see your mother before we leave,” we heard Tear say. I nodded once, then waiting for the voices to go away, before I turned to Natalia.

“They’re splitting up,” I said immediately. “Van’s going by ship to draw the attention of the Oracle ships in the Central Ocean. The rest are going by land.”

“You’ve only got half an hour to find Sync and Reighn now, though,” she said. I shrugged.

“I’m getting a bad feeling about all of this. If I’m right, they’ll be waiting for us,” I said. “Let’s just get going.”

The two of us left the castle then, heading down to the lifts and going straight down to the bottom level. Where I immediately noticed something wrong.

“Hey, Natalia. I might not be the brightest liger in the pack, but I’m pretty sure God-Generals on the bridge means we’re not going that way.”

Natalia huffed. “And which two God-Generals are those, again?” she grumbled. I frowned.

“The one in pink is Arietta the Wild. We’ll have to be careful, she’s got an entire liger clan behind her. The other... I’m not sure. She’s one of the new ones, though. Let’s see... Flick the Phoenix took over the fifth division after Sync left... I’m pretty sure Kairi said her uniform was purple, not blue. Um... No one’s reclaimed control over special operations... It’s got to be the girl they’ve put in charge of the Intelligence Division, then,” I said, thinking out loud. Then I frowned. “Why does she look familiar...?”

“Because she’s my little sister.”

Natalia and I turned to the intrusion, and had to stop and stare. Rather than the light blue coat, lighter blue pants, and dark blue half-cape he’d been wearing the first time we’d seen him, Reighn was wearing a dark blue coat, dark gray turtleneck underneath, and... light blue pants. Well, at least that didn’t change.

“You’re... Reighn, was it?”

The man raised an eyebrow. “When did you...?”

“Kairi,” I said simply. The sharp intake of breath that followed that almost made me frown.

“Then, she is alive?” I nodded, and Reighn let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Because I need to sit down and start apologizing.”

Natalia and I looked at each other before we looked at Reighn. “What do you mean?” Natalia asked. Reighn stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“It’s my fault Kairi was kidnapped. Also, my fault Sync got beaten to death, literally, by his original. Which means Asch’s capture and imprisonment is also on my shoulders. Add to that the fact that I never realized my little sister was reporting on me to Mohs... Yeah. I’ve got a lot of stuff to fix,” he said, not once making eye contact with us.

And not because he was lying. I knew that look. That was shame. That couldn’t be faked. But still...

“And what makes you think all of that is your fault?” Natalia asked.

This time, Reighn looked up, somehow managing to look her in the eye even though it was obvious he didn’t want to. At all.

“I was known for three things during my time as an Oracle Knight. Becoming the youngest Head of the Fon Master Guardians, being a perpetual pessimist, which, in addition to my preference for artes that use the fourth fonon, earned me the nickname of ‘Raincloud,’ and...” he paused, taking a deep breath. “If anyone wanted information on anyone else within the Order, I was the one to go to, because I’d give it freely. If you wanted information on someone outside the Order, you’d have to pay for it, but I’d get it.”

Reighn stopped, let his head drop, and took a few moments to just breath before he looked up again. This time, at me.

“I was reporting on Kairi for months before Van suddenly decided he had enough. Exactly two weeks before Kairi was ‘assassinated.’”

Natalia and I were quiet for a while, Natalia in shock and horror, and myself?

I knew the kind of position he was in.

“It was for her, wasn’t it?”

Reighn nodded once. “Aerith’s all I have left. And then to find out she was reporting to Mohs all along...”

I crossed my arms, looked out at the two girls on the bridge, and nodded to myself. “Well, I guess that settles it. We’d better head for the factory,” I said. “Where’s Sync?”

Reighn shrugged. “He’s waiting for us in the factory. Not sure why, since Aerith and Arietta didn’t show up until about twenty minutes ago, but... oh well.”

I chuckled. “It has to do with Kairi.”

Reighn snorted. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

Natalia sighed. “Nor me.”

“Guys? Factory?”

Reighn nodded, pulling out a wing pack, probably to grab a weapon. “Lead the way.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Dark’s new outfit was a culmination of ‘I want him to have something new’ and ‘What should Natalia give him for his birthday?’ The sad part is, everyone’s had their outfits for so long now that I’m getting tired of them and trying to make new ones... Except for Kairi’s, because I’ve got another two or three already drawn up for her, she won’t need a new one until AEtT._


	22. Chapter 2.13 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, I am not a medical professional, I will never be a medical professional, but I do my best to do at least SOME research prior to posting medical stuff.

_*Tear? What tear?* –Asch_

_“You’ve raised a monster.” –Asch_

* * *

I stepped along the walkway carefully. Stupid Legretta and her stupid orders to detain the group if they try to go through the factory. Did she not remember I had a broken arm from not even a week ago?! And yes, I realize that sounds very Arietta-ish. I looked around, sat down, and hugged my knees to my chest, wishing the voices would just stop echoing in my head.

_“Do you want me to do a full check-up, just in case?”_

I shouldn’t have said yes. Then again, I guess I’d figured that if anything was wrong, at least Asch was in another room, practicing healing artes on a fonon-sensitive dummy. He wouldn’t have had to know.

_“You are one mess of a human woman, you know that?”_

It figured that the medic had said that, just as Asch walked in. Then he’d gone and had Asch use the arte they’d started him practicing. A useful scanning arte, not something you see in the game, but that doesn’t surprise me, all things considered. It wouldn’t be that helpful in battle, after all.

And Asch had done it. He’d walked over, muttered a fonic verse I hadn’t caught, and started checking over me the same way the medic had.

Except, he’d listed everything out loud as he caught it.

_“Remnants of head trauma... heart murmur... right lung... kidneys... liver...”_

Some of it, I’d expected. But as Asch had gone on, it had just gotten worse, and worse...

And the worst part was, I hadn’t had any idea where it had come from. Oh, I’d felt the pain from all of it before. In fact, a lot of the pain I’d been in after waking up to find myself Zion’s captive made sense now. But how had all the damage happened? That was what had been biting at me.

At least, until Asch had frozen, let the fonons disperse (a second time, since my knee had shocked him into doing it the first time), and looked up at the medic who had been looking at me before with an expression I hoped I’d never again see on his face.

Desperation.

_“Was that... Miasma?”_

And just like that, everything had slammed into place.

The passage rings.

The wave of pain that hit me whenever I activated a terminal.

The utter exhaustion afterwards, as if I’d been sapped of more energy than I should.

I’d wanted to find a wall and knock my head off it.

Repeatedly.

_*Kairi? Talk to me... Please!* Asch’s voice in my head. Right. I’d never actually severed the connection. *Kairi?!*_

_*Tear.*_

_Asch was sitting on another bed nearby as the medic went about setting and wrapping my broken arm. The man trying to treat me was writing it off as shock, which it was, but not for the reasons he thought._

_*Tear? What tear?*_

_I almost laughed. *Not what,_ who _. Tear Grants... Van’s little sister... I should have known.*_

_Asch looked like he was ready to come over and strangle me. *You’re dying! What the hell does Van’s sister have to do with anything?!*_

_I flinched at the volume Asch had reached in his mind, and Asch’s temper seemed to vanish just like that, turning back into a deep-set depression that I knew I’d have trouble forcing back out of him._

_I took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh._

_*Tales of the Abyss,* I started. *Tear is the one operating the terminals. And she gets sick. Because of miasma-tainted seventh fonons that won’t exit her body properly.*_

_Asch’s green eyes, already wide from the shock, seemed to get even wider. *You knew? You knew what operating the sephiroth would do to you and you still...* he trailed off, not able to finish that, even in his head. I had the decency to cringe._

_*I forgot.*_

_Asch groaned and let himself fall back so he was laying across the cot._

_“Are you alright?” the medic asked worriedly. Asch let out something that probably should have been a nervous chuckle, but sounded more like a whimper... which in turn made me look at him worriedly._

_“At least I know I’ll be following you rather quickly... Your brother is going to_ murder _me...” he said. *Especially since I’m going to be murdering you before the miasma can finish the job.*_

_I frowned. “We’re not telling him.”_

_Asch shot back up. “But—“_

_I looked up at the medic. “No one is going to hear about this. Make sure that other woman knows too,” I said, voice suddenly colder than ice. The medic paled._

_“She’s already recording it though...” he started. I narrowed my eyes._

_“Don’t let her put the miasma down,” I ordered. “Write everything else off as excessive alcohol consumption. I used to drink. I’ll admit that. But there’s no miasma in my body.”_

_The medic nodded and hurried off, and I turned on Asch, who looked like he could use a blood infusion, honestly. “That goes for you, too. Not Jade, not Sync, not Nephry... You will tell_ no one. _Doctor-patient confidentiality. You’re the one who made the verbal diagnosis.”_

 _Asch didn’t reply verbally or telepathically, but I could practically hear him screaming at me to change my mind, to tell_ someone _._

_And then he ducked his head, swallowed, and nodded. “I won’t tell anyone...” he said, before looking up at me. I felt my heart start to shatter again when I saw the emotions dancing in his eyes. “But you should. Jade and Nephry may not be your siblings by blood, but they should know this...”_

_He let his head fall again, and I bit my lip and turned away._

_“Wait...”_

_I blinked. Okay... Sync doing an emotional one-eighty? Sure. Because he doesn’t have any clue what to_ do _with his emotions. Asch?_

_I turned and raised an eyebrow._

_“Sync’s dead.”_

_I smiled. “That’s what he_ wants _you think.”_

_Poor Asch. And he’d just gotten some color back in his cheeks._

_“You’ve raised a monster.”_

I don’t think my cackling helped to convince Asch otherwise, but oh well.

“I guess Dark couldn’t find them after all.”

I looked down at the scene below me and smiled. Luke, Jade, Anise, Tear, Guy... Now, where was...

“Actually, Sync’s waiting for us further in.”

The five that I could see turned, and I silently cursed the metal pipe that was between me and wherever Dark and Natalia had to be standing.

Though, I wasn’t exactly expecting Reighn to walk out with the two of them.

I quietly mourned what must have been the end of Reighn’s old coat when I realized he was wearing something vaguely oriental, rather than the outfit I’d grown used to.

“Natalia? What are you doing here?” Luke asked suspiciously. Natalia crossed her arms, looking smug.

“What else? Dark and I are coming with you.”

“No,” Luke blurted out. Natalia sniffed.

“Oh, come on. I’m not helpless. I’m a master of Lanvaldear-style archery and I’m a healer as well,” she started. Dark chuckled.

“So am I, for that matter,” he said. “You turn us away, you’re forcing Tear to handle healing for herself and six other people.”

“Um, I’m a seventh fonist too,” Reighn added quietly. Luke crossed his arms.

“Oh look, now we have two healers for seven people. That better?”

Natalia looked like she was ready to shoot her cousin. “Luke,” she started, stepping forward. Then she added something more quietly, and while I couldn’t hear it, I knew what she was saying. _“I’ll tell them about you know what... I heard you talking to Dorian General Grants under the castle...”_

And, sure enough... There goes Luke, dragging poor little Natalia along.

“What’s that about?” Anise asked.

_Bang!_

Dark moved, just barely, before the bullet tore through his left arm, eyes already seeking out the perpetrator. “Danté.”

A mass of black detached itself from the rafters and dropped to the ground... only to jump back again as Jade’s spear nearly skewered it.

If I’d been close enough, I’m sure I’d have been just as frozen by the amount of killing intent Jade was letting off.

“What are you so pissed off about? She’s alive, isn’t she?” Danté muttered, loud enough for me to hear. Jade’s spear reappeared in his hand, and it was obvious he was still having trouble with words. So I decided to join the party.

“Perhaps,” I called, just before I landed, and carefully putting most of my weight on my left leg. “But I can thank you for the royal mess my knee’s turned into.”

My sword appeared in my right hand. I’d spent hours playing around with this, so that I could have both my sword and my frying pan latched onto my right arm, but I didn’t have the patience to fight with a sheath. Not with my off hand.

“Kairi? What are you doing here?” Dark asked.

Danté scowled, slipping one gun into a holster behind him and drawing one from his leg. Remembering what Dark had said before, I smirked. So, he wasn’t going to bother with trying to reload the gun that used ammunition, huh?

Then I rushed in, sword swinging to force a shot aimed at Jade away.

Luke, Guy, and Reighn weren’t far behind me, and once I was sure they were keeping Danté occupied, I ran back to where Jade and Anise were standing, keeping a few yards to Jade’s right while Anise was further away to his left. Tear was busy trying to heal Dark’s arm behind us, and Natalia was shooting her dear little heart out between us and the short-range boys.

“What happened to your arm?” Jade asked before unleashing a Stalagmite on Danté. I scowled.

“Ask Anise in an hour. If she’s conscious at that point... Sapphire Riot!”

Jade cringed. “You have my pity. At least when Arietta’s monster dropped me it was just a sprained wrist. Healing artes can’t fix a broken arm without doing even more damage. Splash!”

I huffed. “I know. Why do you think my knee’s so fucked up? Splash!”

Jade faltered for a moment before he went back to casting. “Was that...?”

“A normal-colored fonic arte? From me? Yes.”

Jade let loose with a second Splash, since Reighn had wiped out the FoF we’d made with a strike arte. “I thought all of your artes were off-color?”

I sighed. “Yeah... we’ll talk about that later. It’s a long story.”

“O noble heart, loose thy flame to raze mine enemies!”

I glanced back at Dark, noting that Tear seemed to be casting, too. Probably a healing arte, in her case. But what was Dark doing?

“Witches’ Circle!”

I couldn’t help but stare at the symbol that went up in flames just before I dropped a Sapphire Riot on top of it.

Danté didn’t seem pleased at all as he back-flipped two, three times and came to a stop in a casting stance.

“O demon of the earth, open thy jaws and crush mine enemies! Chasm!”

I pride myself on not screaming in front of an enemy.

Usually.

Unfortunately, my leg chose right then, when I _really_ needed to move, to act up.

At least my scream was half frustration.

Of course, Jade then followed up with a Turbulence.

I grinned as both artes faded. “Nice. Wanna help me up?”

Jade gave me a worried look, but held a hand out anyway so I could haul myself up onto my left leg with my right arm.

I looked over at Danté just in time to watch Reighn get a lucky blow in and knock the bastard away. The assassin rolled, came to a stop on one knee, and scowled, finally seeming to realize he was outnumbered.

“Damn... Fine. I was supposed to wait for Seth, but I’m not stupid. The two of us together wouldn’t be able to get past all of you...” he muttered. Then he jumped back, stepped over to the edge of the walkway, and jumped down.

I’d have sworn I saw a gray shape catch him and run off.

A small growl behind me caught my attention, and I looked down at Sorylle, blinking a couple of times.

“Where’s Twilight?” Dark asked, obviously translating. I sighed.

“With Asch,” I said. Then I hissed as another wave of fire ripped through me.

This had started months ago, and now I knew why. It had been getting worse, too, and more frequent. But I’d always brushed it aside before. Especially recently, since it had usually started near my knee. Now I knew better. The pain started around my knee because that’s where the worst of the damage was right now.

I took a moment to stop and count hours.

“Are you alright?” Tear asked before settling into a casting stance. “What am I saying? You took that arte full-on.”

I smiled weakly as the gashes on my body healed up, and I let my Oracle Knight uniform patch itself together before pulling out my wing pack and digging around.

“Now what are you looking for?” Dark asked. I cringed, yet another flash of pain shooting through my body, thanks to Tear’s arte aggravating the seventh fonons already there.

“Pain meds,” I answered honestly. “Though these are only temporary, until we can get the order in from Belkend.” I pulled out the little brown bottle and flinched again.

Pain medication... like what my dad was on for months before he died.

I bit my lip and forced that thought away, opening the bottle and popping two of the pills into my mouth before making a face and shoving the god-forsaken bottle back into my wing pack.

“Ooh... I did that to your arm, didn’t I?”

I glared at Anise and flipped her off, honestly not up to much more than that. Reighn looked worried though.

“When was the last time you took those?” he asked. I scowled, putting my wing pack away and standing—carefully—before I shoved my right hand into a pocket.

“Five hours.”

It was quiet for a moment before Jade took a deep breath. “Reighn?”

“Are you trying to kill yourself by drug overdose?”

I pulled out a piece of folded paper and held it out in his general direction, refusing to look up at him. I felt someone tug it out of my hands, but in the wrong direction. So, Jade.

I heard his breath hitch before the whisper of paper against cloth told me it was handed off to someone else.

“This... isn’t just for your arm... is it?” Reighn asked slowly. I sighed and moved to cross my arms, before my tightly-bound left arm reminded me I couldn’t do that. Natalia’s gasp made me look up, though I wondered what had warranted the action when I realized she hadn’t seen the paper yet.

“You said you had a health condition before... when you first came to Baticul...”

I could have run over and hugged the dear thing.

*I owe her something very, very pretty,* I told Dark. Outwardly, I just nodded.

“My arm, my knee, my liver and kidney... I’m a mess. And it hurts.”

“I can see that,” Reighn said wryly, handing over the paper.

The paper that gave me permission to choke down two pills every four hours as necessary.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So, when I wrote the Colored Ripples chapter that goes with this (almost a month before I wrote this chapter), I hadn’t been planning on throwing in that flashback. But, it worked._

_(Colored Ripples will be going up once I've finished posting Re:A Spatial Tear.)_


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 87% crack/humor, 10% depressing, and 3% plot. You have been warned.

_“Oh, yes... Let’s leave sweet, impressionable little replicas in the company of a mentally unbalanced former noble with suicidal tendencies and an unpredictable psychopath whose brother got the name ‘Necromancer’ for a reason. Oh, and don’t forget the emotionally awkward sadist who raised him.” –Kairi_

_Palm? Care for a re-introduction to Face? –Dark_

_And if Sync wasn’t mumbling ‘the Itsy-Bitsy Spider’ under his breath, I’d shoot Natalia. –Dark_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

*I owe her something very, very pretty.*

I raised an utterly baffled eyebrow as Kairi nodded.

“My arm, my knee, my liver and kidney... I’m a mess. And it hurts,” she said out loud. Wait, liver and kidney?

“I can see that,” Reighn said, voice laced with a bare, almost sickened humor as he handed over the piece of paper Jade had given him.

The paper Jade was still gaping at.

“Why? What is it?” Anise asked. Reighn took a deep breath.

“Codeine. Tablets like that... The doctors only had me on it for a couple of weeks after I had to have surgery, but they only had me taking one every six hours,” he said.

Kairi stuffed the hand holding the paper into her pocket. “Codeine’s pretty strong. The stuff we’ve got on order from Belkend is even stronger,” she said quietly. Jade adjusted his glasses, but I saw him swallow, trying to get up the nerve to speak again.

“Wait, if they had Reighn on one pill every six hours, and you just swallowed two after only five hours...” Guy started, his voice climbing in pitch a bit as he realized just why Reighn had initially freaked out.

“Kairi’s been given permission to take two pills every four hours as necessary to suppress the pain,” Jade said. “It’s drastic, and I’ve only ever seen a doctor allow it for patients who are just out of a major surgery or...” he trailed off, eyes widening in horror as he looked at Kairi. She looked like she was about to cry, actually.

“Or?” Natalia prompted. And with the way Kairi’s spirit seemed to break, I almost wanted to walk over and knock her on the head.

“...terminally ill...”

The whisper had come from Kairi.

*...just like Dad...* the same heartbroken mumble continued in my mind.

*Oh, Kairi...*

A shuddering breath, and her eyes closed, then snapped open again. “Let’s get going. I’m under orders to detain you... I think I’ve done that enough already.”

Reighn groaned. “I was wondering where Sync picked that unhealthy habit up...”

Kairi giggled. And it sounded evil. “Oh, yes... Let’s leave sweet, impressionable little replicas in the company of a mentally unbalanced former noble with suicidal tendencies and an unpredictable psychopath whose brother got the name ‘Necromancer’ for a reason. Oh, and don’t forget the emotionally awkward sadist who raised him.”

Palm? Meet Face.

Well, at least it got a chuckle out of Jade and Reighn. “That explains _so_ much...” Reighn muttered.

“Uh... Do I want to know...?”

“Probably not.”

Jade, Reighn, Kairi, and I all glanced at each other before smirking. Luke gave Guy a look before he groaned.

“Okay, they’re getting creepy. I’m leaving. Who’s coming with me?”

I couldn’t help it, I busted up laughing.

After everything that we’d just found out, I think we all needed the laugh. Especially Kairi, who got to the point of laughing so hard she was crying. Which reminds me...

*Why do you owe Natalia something pretty?* I asked. Kairi finally managed to get the waterworks under control and started following Luke.

*Because she gave me an alibi.*

I frowned. *Then, the medication isn’t for... whatever caught up with you in St. Binah?* I asked, struggling to remember the conversation. I got the impression of Kairi shaking her head, even though she wasn’t.

“Ugh, Dark? I know I’ve never mentioned this before... but I wasn’t entirely sure how to put it... so I’ll say it now... Kairi stinks.”

“Sorylle!”

“Miasma?”

I stared at Kairi, who was looking down at Sorylle. The young liger nodded, and Kairi sighed. “I know.”

“When the hell did you learn to actually speak the liger language instead of just cursing in it?” I asked, finally finding my voice. Kairi shrugged.

“Twilight, Arietta... her ligers... I’m not that fluent, but I’m starting to find little patterns that make it easier,” she said. *Telepathy helps too.*

*Cheater,* I deadpanned. Then I cringed. *By the way...*

“Uh... Are you guys doing that telepathy thing?”

Kairi stopped.

Just stopped.

And got plowed over by Jade.

Who promptly helped her back up and retreated.

Kairi looked at me. Then at Jade, who was standing a healthy... well, _healthier_ distance away. Then back at me. And back to Jade, apparently deciding that his retreat was suspicious.

“Telepathy. Thing?”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I left when it came up.”

Kairi crossed her arms and looked at me.

I chuckled and brushed my bangs out of my face. “Ah... that was the ‘by the way’...”

Let it be known that my memory of what happened next has never been completely clear.

Probably because Kairi whacked me upside the head with her frying pan.

_Hard._

“Just one thing after another this week... It would be nice if I had some control over my life again. Even for just a couple days!” she grumbled. “First I find out I’m a physical disaster zone! Then Twilight gets commandeered to babysit Asch! Then the Dark Wings show up on the Tartarus and I find out Cantabile’s been reassigned to Daath. Next I come here and have to deal Danté. And now you’re telling me you told them about my telepathy? Yes, I was planning on telling them eventually... on my own time... when it’s relevant! Why can’t—Eeek!”

Kairi cut off to backpedal into Guy and faint. Of course, Guy then jumped away... only to bump into Tear, before dancing away into Natalia, and turning and tripping over Anise.

At which point the poor man’s nerves were shot enough for him to just faint.

...

...

...

“What just happened?”

“Um...”

Palm? Care for a re-introduction to Face?

Reighn chuckled. “Okay... When the best answer Jade can come up with is also the word requiring the second least amount of brainpower in existence, we’re all screwed.”

I couldn’t help it. I busted up laughing. And, of course, once I started, everyone else joined in. Even Jade.

“Uh... What’s so funny?” Guy asked, coming around. I shook my head, unable to get any words out, but Jade and Reighn managed to force the amusement down.

“Luke asked an intelligent question and I provided him with one of the least helpful answers in existence,” the colonel admitted. Reighn snickered.

“’Um’ is not an answer, period.”

“Ugh...”

“Are you okay, Kairi?” Guy asked, looking over at the girl who had started his little... pinball episode.

Kairi sat up, looked around while making an obvious effort to keep her breathing even, then closed her eyes and shuddered. Then she opened them again, made another scan...

And squeaked as she jumped to her feet and fled to the other side of the walkway.

Which was when Guy stood and stepped on something.

The audible crunch made me cringe, then shoot Kairi an incredulous look. “Bug?” I asked. She shivered.

“Worse. Spider.”

All was silent for a few minutes before Anise, wide-eyed and innocent as could be, opened her mouth. “Never took you for an arachnophobic.”

Kairi shuddered again. “Severe arachnophobia and mild acrophobia. The latter isn’t that bad, usually. The former? Heh, yeah... Abandoned factory... arachnophobia... what was I thinking? Dumbest. Idea. In. _Months_. And that’s saying something. Because I come up with a lot of dumb ideas.”

Guy sighed. “Well, now that that little episode is over... can we get going?”

Tear had a hand on her forehead. “Yes, let’s. We’ve wasted enough time,” she agreed. Kairi nodded and started walking, then stopped and glanced around worriedly. “Now what?” Tear mumbled.

Kairi’s sword flashed into existence (when’d she start doing that, anyway?) just in time for a small group of bats to descend upon us.

Between me, Natalia, Reighn, and Jade and Kairi’s artes, the bats didn’t last long.

Despite being a long-range fighter, I ended up leading the way through the factory. I guess it helped that I knew where I was going... Which brought me to the uncomfortable position of having to hope that Sync hadn’t gotten lost, or worse, severely injured.

Er, severely injured again?

“Hey, Reighn.”

The blue-haired man turned to look at me, and from the slight scowl on Kairi’s face, I’d interrupted something. Oops.

“Earlier, you mentioned Sync... as having been literally beaten to death? But he’s alive...”

Jade adjusted his glasses uncomfortably. “We’re lucky Cantabile, and then Nephry, wouldn’t let go of his body. If they had, the seventh fonons holding it together would have separated and they wouldn’t have had a chance to revive him,” he said quietly. Reighn nodded.

“Still, I’m starting to worry,” he admitted. “Sync’s ribs just finished healing completely a week ago. He’s out of practice and still weakened.”

Kairi smiled. “He’s fine.”

Jade blinked. “You can sense him?”

Kairi nodded. “Yeah, he’s close enough. Definitely out of practice though. I’ve been able to feel him for almost four minutes now and he hasn’t latched on.”

“Why don’t you just contact him?” Luke asked. Kairi sighed.

“Because it’s energy-consuming and between talking to Dark earlier and the conversation Reighn and I were having a minute ago, I don’t want to push myself too hard. Maintaining a field is one thing. My mind isn’t actually connected to anything. Holding a channel together?” Kairi just shook her head. “By the way, you really need to learn how to protect your mind better.”

“Eh?!”

Kairi just smirked, stepped onto an aircar, and crossed her arms as if she were impatient.

“This should take us straight down to the emergency exit,” I said, stepping on last after double-checking the power and flipping the switch.

The aircar was old, and clanky, and not nearly as smooth as the ones up in the city, but it still operated fine, and got us to the platform near the exit safely.

“Dark...”

I wrinkled my nose. “Yup, something crawled in here and died.”

“I wish...” I heard Kairi mutter. I glanced at her worriedly, noting the way she was watching the rafters above us. I looked up myself.

“Natalia, look out!” Tear yelled, managing to pull the blonde back. Just in time, too, as a large, amorphous mass of... ick... landed where she had been standing.

“That is the worst thing I have ever smelled... And I’ve smelled a lot of bad things,” I announced. Sorylle, poor girl, looked dizzy. “Why don’t you hide out on the aircar where the smell isn’t quite so bad?”

Normally, the headstrong little liger would have glared at me and then charged right into the battle.

It should say something about the smell, since Sorylle decided to head back into the aircar.

Kairi unleashed a Sapphire Riot, and I noted with disgusted fascination that some of the slimy... stuff... had been burnt off. But not much.

I pulled my guns out with a scowl and started shooting, tearing away a little more of that nastiness with each shot.

I really felt sorry for Reighn, Luke, and Guy, who had to get up close to the thing. Anise was staying back with Kairi, Jade, and Tear.

“Howl, o raging wind! Turbulence!”

“Sync!”

I don’t think I’d ever heard Kairi sound happier.

“Reunion later, nastiness now.”

And count on Jade to rain on the party.

“Sure. Let me know how that works out in a minute.”

I paused for a moment to look at her, familiar green fonic glyph glowing around her feet.

“O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!”

Blue flames came up violently, burning away the rest of the muck to reveal...

A spider. A giant, mutated spider.

No wonder Kairi was calling herself stupid, if she _knew_ this was here.

And if Sync wasn’t mumbling ‘the Itsy-Bitsy Spider’ under his breath, I’d shoot Natalia. (Never happening, by the way. Right up there with selling my guns.)

“Sync? You have exactly two seconds to shut up.”

The green-haired boy just laughed and unleashed another Turbulence on the monster spider... Who decided to unleash a parade of its smaller ilk on us.

I’m sure I heard Kairi scream, but I was too busy collecting up fonons for Witches’ Circle to take notice.

“Sync, you still have your knives, right?” Jade asked. Sync scowled.

“My fonslots are all fucked up from Zion’s scythe. Turbulence is low enough I can manage, but Ground Dasher put me on my ass yesterday.”

“Which means you can’t pull out a Severed Fate either, doesn’t it?”

“Sorry.”

Jade scowled and ran in toward the mutated arachnid, spear in hand as he slashed at it, giving Luke a chance to retreat for a moment.

“Jade, can you cover me for a moment?” Reighn called. Jade nodded, keeping his spear between the angry monster and his body as Reighn backed out. Luke slipped back in to help keep the thing occupied.

Reighn dropped into a casting stance, and for a moment, when he started chanting, I’d have sworn Sync faltered.

“O divine power, lend me thy aid, and call forth from the abyss thy fonic blade...”

If I hadn’t been watching, I’d have missed Sync’s flinch when a dark blue, seemingly crystalline blade sprouted from what had, at first, appeared to be an odd spear.

‘Not a spear... A _scythe_.’

And then Reighn was rushing back in toward the spider monster, and Jade was running back to where I’d been absent-mindedly shooting whenever I had a clear line of shot.

And I realized then just why Sync was so uncomfortable all of a sudden.

_“My fonslots are all fucked up from Zion’s scythe.”_

 I frowned. A powerful enough fonic blade would do that. And if Zion used a scythe like Reighn’s...

That thought snagged, then replayed. Then it brought up another line.

_“Reighn Aurelius was the head of my Fon Master Guardians for five years... retired two years ago.”_

Which meant that Zion had learned to wield the weapon he did because of Reighn’s influence.

And Reighn probably knew that. He’d probably been the one to teach Zion, even.

That thought made me cringe, even as Reighn unleashed a strike arte that managed to bring the damn spider down. He probably knew, all too well, the repercussions that came with using that weapon.

Which meant Sync had probably gone into martyr mode and told him to keep using it anyway.

But, it explained why he had _just_ gotten around to summoning the blade.

As the mutated spider’s fonons separated, I looked around. “Everyone alright?”

“I’m fine,” Natalia said.

“The smell’s going away,” Sorylle added.  I nodded, then frowned.

“Wait, where’s Kairi?”

The others looked around for a moment. “I haven’t seen her since that wave of minions,” Reighn said. Natalia looked uncomfortable.

“I thought I heard her scream. You don’t suppose she fell off the platform, do you?” she asked.

“Not exactly.”

I frowned, then looked up, the direction Kairi’s voice had come from.

Probably a good thing I did, since no one else could seem to figure out where she was.

Although I really do want to know...

“How the hell did you get up there?”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Two for you today! First... Hehe... The LINE! Okay, not so much a fun fact as just me being weird. But, here’s one for you, from Coren024! (Because it was really rather fitting.) “I find it kind of funny how it seems that the whole miasma thing went completely over Dark's head due to his shock over her speaking liger.” Yeah, that about sums it up. Then again, him not bringing it up again might have something to do with the fact that Kairi knocks him upside the head with her frying pan not two minutes later... O.o_


	24. Chapter 2.14 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind me posting chapters in between bouts of cleaning.

_“How the hell did you get up there?” –Dark_

_“I made the mistake of telling Reighn it was shame his coat was in such bad shape ‘cause I’d liked it... within earshot of York.” –Sync_

* * *

“How the hell did you get up there?”

“If I knew, I don’t think I’d be here,” I deadpanned. ‘Here’, in this case, meaning ‘hanging upside-down from cables ten feet above their heads’.

“Kairi.” Oh, here we go. “I have one _very_ important question for you.”

“Three.”

“Wonderful...”

“Plus really strong pain meds.”

Sync’s exasperation faded into panic. “Pain meds?”

I cringed. “I’m a physical disaster zone,” I said. *And... Asch is going to kill me first if I don’t tell at least you the truth... But, that’s for later.* “Any brilliant ideas on how to get me down?”

“Let go?”

This sarcastic comment brought to you by Anise.

“And worsen the first thing the doctors found wrong with me? No thank you.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “And that first thing was...?”

“Remnants of blunt force trauma to the head.”

Sync groaned. “And you got that doing what, exactly?”

“I decided to piss Van off. He decided to bash my head in. Gotta thank him for getting me in with the Oracle Knights, though.”

I watched as a green-haired head turned and walked over to a wall, and hoped quietly that he wouldn’t try to give himself blunt force trauma to the head as well. One person in that boat was bad enough.

“Wait, Master Van?”

I sighed. “Yes, Van. He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him... I wish I was tall enough to bash his head in, because I’d do it in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, I’m not. Oh well.”

“Ahem. Getting down?” Jade said, trying to get us back on track. Anise frowned and then enlarged Tokunaga again. I grinned.

“Thanks, Anise.”

Then I let go... with my legs, first, hoping the grip I had with my right arm would be enough to get me flipped around in midair.

Good thing Anise had Tokunaga under me, because I didn’t quite manage to get my feet under me.

Once I’d rolled off the doll, I walked over to Sync...

And pounded him upside the head.

“...I deserved that...”

I crossed my arms. “I’m going to be merciful. Because I really don’t think Asch plans to be.”

The look on Sync’s face told me that my threat was plenty punishment enough for right now. That having been said... *Also, I have absolutely no idea how doppelgangers are formed in the first place. It would probably have taken me years to get back here, if I made it back at all...*

Then I noticed what Sync was wearing. “I take it your old clothes were trashed?”

Sync’s face turned a distinct shade of red. “I made the mistake of telling Reighn it was shame his coat was in such bad shape ‘cause I’d liked it... within earshot of York.”

I snickered.

“Laugh it up, but it’s comfortable,” Sync grumbled. Reighn chuckled.

“You don’t look too bad in it yourself,” he said, probably trying to cool things down.

“Uh...”

I turned around and grinned. “The Dark Wings? The tall one in the blue coat is the tailor of the group. You didn’t think they bought their clothes, after all, did you? York will take any excuse for an easy project, just to give himself something to do. He’ll charge for the more complicated stuff, but... He and Asch get along real well, so free clothes here and there don’t surprise me.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “All things considered, one would assume he wouldn’t be quite so charitable...”

I sighed. “I’ve tried paying Noir for it before, she used those slippery hands of hers to _put it back._ Asch caught the discrepancy in our finances a week later, when they were long gone.”

“They might have a reason, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be stingy,” Reighn added.

“By the way... When you said Sync looked like Ion, you should have said something about them being _identical_ ,” Anise said. Sync sighed, and looked the other direction, and I glanced back at Jade. Well, it’s not as if we’ve never mentioned Sync being a replica.

“Replica,” Sync grumbled before I had a chance to. “Kinda happens.”

I frowned, crossed my arms (carefully, so as not to aggravate my left arm), and started tapping my foot.

It took Sync about four seconds to realize why I was giving him a warning look.

So he hid behind Reighn.

“Uh... Should I have not mentioned it?” Anise asked worriedly. I shook my head.

“It’s fine. Sync has... self-esteem issues,” I said. “It’s... one of the many things Mohs beat into his head that I really don’t agree with.” I took a moment to look around. “By the way, the exit’s there.”

I received a number of stares for that one, and it was Sync’s turn to laugh as he stepped out from behind his human shield.

“Conversational whiplash... One of the many hazards involved when talking to Kairi...”

I shrugged. “At least I’m not as bad as you.”

“Nope.”

“That wasn’t meant to be a compliment.”

“So?”

“Pokémon.”

“Huh?”

I busted up laughing, and Sync sighed. “Is this another one of those things I really shouldn’t question?”

“Probably.”

“Hey, guys?” Luke said, sounding just a little bit annoyed as he stood next to the exit. “I get that you haven’t seen each other in months and all, but Kairi’s right. And we should get going. Master Van took a ferry, we’ll be running behind him as it is.”

I nodded. “Right. I’ll see you guys at some point. Oh, and Anise? Pain. I promise you a lot of pain as soon as I’m sure they can afford to be down a fighter.”

Anise cringed. “I’m sorry?”

“You will be.”

“For what?” Sync asked as I was walking over to the aircar. I stopped and held up my left arm, and he blinked twice before cringing. “Ouch.”

Sync made to follow me then, and I held my hand up, then pointed to Jade and the others. “Go with them. If I end up dragging you back to the Tartarus, I’ll blow my cover.”

Sync stopped, looking conflicted, then nodded. “Alright. But what about Asch?”

I sighed. “I’m... working on that. He’s on the Tartarus right now, cooperating with the God-Generals for the time being, if for no other reason than because he’s a seventh fonist and the medics they have on board are willing to teach him healing artes.”

“...I shouldn’t ask, but I’m going to. Is Cantabile...?”

“Sent back to Daath to... actually, I don’t know why she was sent back. I just know she was. That having been said... I might tell Asch to attempt to rein in his fury because she doesn’t know you’re alive yet,” I said. Sync’s gaze fell to the floor.

“I’ll tell her. In person.” _Whenever I see her_.

Which could be a while. But that would be okay.

“Be careful, Kairi,” Jade said. I shrugged.

“I’ll be fine. See ya!”

I stepped onto the aircar and sent it back up without another word.

I didn’t tell Jade, but I hadn’t gotten into the factory the same way they had. I’d come from the direction they were about to leave it. And, while it was shorter, I couldn’t risk being spotted with them.

Okay, so maybe they’d figure that out, and it’d piss a couple of them off, but...

The field I had up around us? I could touch Asch’s mind. And Ion’s. And Noir, York, and Urushi. And Twilight. And most of the God-Generals.

Which meant that they were definitely outside.

I’d told Asch that Luke’s fonslots had been adjusted. Dist hadn’t, because he didn’t want Asch to know he had a contact off the Tartarus. But I’d told him.

And Asch knew Tales of the Abyss.

Maybe nowhere near as well as I did, but he knew it. Well enough to know that he’d have to direct Luke to the Zao Ruins.

The jerking motion of the aircar coming to a stop again brought me out of my thoughts for a bit, and I glanced around. No monsters too close, but...

Just my luck, a trio of bats were flapping around the pathway I needed to take. I scowled and slipped into a casting stance.

I’d managed to pull off a Crimson Riot earlier with just fonons, but that had resulted in a small fire that had taken a Splash to put out.

Energy-influenced fonons, though? They didn’t light up the residual oil around the factory. Which was a good thing, because two of my three artes (I needed my bow for Demonic Star, unfortunately) were fifth fonon-based. “O demonic gate, burn to ashes! Sapphire Riot!”

The arte hit all three bats, though it didn’t kill any of them. I just scowled and slipped the fonons of my sword off my arm, running in and slashing through one.

At this point in the game, if you’re playing it without the extra experience things you can buy in the Grade Shop between each play-through, you’re at about level fifteen.

Between getting out of practice while Danté’s prisoner and the shape my body was in because of the miasma, plus being forced to use my right arm, I was about level twenty-five, I guessed.

Before you gripe about Infernal Prison being a level forty-something arte, I’d like to mention something.

Jade loses all of his artes in the game due to a fon slot seal. He’s pretty much pointless as a melee fighter as it is, so we can assume that, in terms of physical strength, nothing really happened. Fonic strength, on the other hand...

In my case, however... My opening fon slots meant I had another way to cast fonic artes, and that was probably lined up well with my estimated ‘level’ (Negative Gate is a level twenty-one arte, normally). However, I can’t lose any of my spirit Energies, and since I use sun Energies to control fonons for fonic artes normally (which results in my green fonic glyph and off-colored artes), there’s no difference in skill level.

So, my fonic artes are pretty much non-reliant on ‘level’. Which is a good thing.

That having been said, level twenty-five in a level fifteen dungeon?

While it wasn’t as easy as it should have been, I knew I’d be fine.

As long as I didn’t have to fight more than three at a time.

I stabbed the second bat and then kicked the third away from me so I could finish off the second with a slash.

“Trembling cage that bends empty space, drive the wedge of freedom into those who would be captured! Negative Blade!”

I watched in shock as a black blade shot through the last bat, killing it before I could race after it. I looked around, spotting the dark blue cloak after a moment, and watching as the boy walked forward. His hood hid his face, but that voice...

“Who are you?”

The boy stopped, then slipped his hands into his pockets. “That’s rather rude of you, demanding my name like that when I’ve just helped you. You haven’t even sheathed your sword yet... where _is_ its sheath, anyway?”

I frowned, but reluctantly let my sword’s fonons drop back into place on my arm. “It’s in my wing pack, because I’m bad enough wielding a sword with my right hand without having to fight drawing it,” I said.

The thing with this guy’s voice, though... it sounded like someone had taken Jade’s voice, thrown in the voice of Jay from Tales of Legendia (that voice actor does Young Jade in a flashback in the game) and had found the perfect middle ground between the two.

“Now then, who are you?” I repeated.

The boy seemed to be fidgeting while holding still, if that was possible.

“Promise you won’t kill me?”

That made me raise an eyebrow. “Why the hell do you think I’d want to kill someone I don’t think I’ve ever met before?”

This seemed to relax the poor boy’s nerves a little, and he lowered his hood.

If anyone asked later, I’d deny that I sat down out of shock. I’d claim that my knee had been hurting instead.

Standing in front of me, and looking twenty years younger than when I’d seen him not twenty minutes ago, was Jade.

Or, as I corrected myself when my brain finally turned back on, a replica of him.

“...Kairi?”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and slipped onto the second plane.

I’d told Jade multiple times that spirit Energies couldn’t be replicated. Jade had six spirit Energies, more due to the fact that they were more abundant on Auldrant and he was thirty-five than anything else.

The boy in front of me had three.

I slipped back into my body and took another deep breath, then stood up again.

“Two questions,” I started. “What’s your name? And how old are you?”

The boy blinked. “Physically or literally?” he asked, obviously referring to my second question. I shrugged.

“Both.”

He smirked, an all-too-familiar expression that looked a little odd on a younger—and notably glasses-free—face. “Seth. I’m four years old. The replica data was taken when Jade was eleven.”

So, my guess of twenty years was spot-on.

And I was more bothered by the fact that Seth was the same height as me than the fact that my brother probably had no idea his replica data had even been taken. Dist’s fault, no doubt.

I flinched, realizing that if Jade ever found out about Seth, he’d probably murder the poor kid. No wonder he was worried about me wanting to kill him.

I took a deep breath. “So. You’re a fonist, too?”

Seth ducked his head. “I know a few fonic artes, but I wouldn’t say I’m a fonist. I’ve got a healing arte, though, and when Zion found out they’d sent you in alone... I was in the area, and... I was told you focus in melee, though...”

I shrugged. “Usually. Then again, I usually don’t have to deal with a broken left arm. My left is my sword arm,” I said. Seth cringed.

“That... definitely explains why he sounded so exasperated when he told me Legretta had ordered you to detain the ambassadors... Which I’m going to guess you didn’t do, anyway.”

I grinned. “Oh, I did. Not intentionally, but I did. So... Shall we go?”

He looked at me, seeming to consider me for a few minutes. “You’re weird.”

I just kept grinning and started past him. There was a nice mess of monsters ahead of us, and I was much more inclined to get the drop on them than attempt to get Seth to talk about something when he was obviously uncomfortable around me.

I briefly considered my rather limited arte choices, before slipping into a casting stance. Before I actually unleashed the arte, though...

“You take the two on the left, I’ll deal with the two on the right?” Seth asked cautiously.

I chuckled. “Infernal Prison!”

“...Never mind.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The name I’d originally picked for Jade’s replica was Flynn. However, given that we were working on Gifted at the time and had a Flynn there, I decided to change it. Danté was the next name I picked. Then I realized I already had Dark and Danté, which meant I once again needed a new name for Jade’s replica. Third time’s the charm, I guess._


	25. Chapter 2.15 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cdpict was a reader/reviewer on FFnet.

_“I never took you as the kind of person to have a death wish.” –Tear_

_“I like the way you think... when I’m not on the other end.” –Jade_

_“I’d tell you to go find a hole, but it’d probably be someone’s den.” –Sorylle_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

I knew we were screwed the moment I turned around.

_“Hand over Ion!”_

Luke had seen the Fon Master, and had charged right in... Sync on his heels, more because Asch was standing right next to the other green-haired replica than anything else. And Luke, who wasn’t thinking straight, had drawn his sword, striking out against Asch, seeing the Oracle Knight uniform and not the fact that the other redhead was unarmed.

I was quietly very glad there had been an Oracle Knight in range, one who hadn’t been fast enough to react as Asch had grabbed his sword, drawn it, and spun on his heel to block the incoming strike from Luke.

I knew, the minute Sync unleashed the Reaper’s Toll on the nearest armed soldier to the two of them, that he’d seen this coming, because the next thing he did was grab a stunned Luke by the collar and forcefully drag him away.

I hadn’t been standing by idly the whole time either, focusing on the Oracle Knights closest to Luke and hoping that fonic bullets to the helmet would be enough to at least slow them down from ringing in the ears.

It probably helped that Twilight had put himself between Asch and Luke as soon as he could, looking at Asch as if daring him to try something.

Legretta had given the order for them to get back on board, and Asch had reluctantly handed over the Oracle Knight’s sword before ushering Ion ahead of him. Within just a couple of minutes, all of the soldiers that had been milling about in the rain just outside the Tartarus had gotten back into the landship, and it was pulling away.

Then Luke started to recover, and he looked over at me, more ice in those green eyes than I’d ever seen before. “Dark... there is a big difference between ‘he looks like you’ and ‘he could be your twin’.”

I cringed. “Yeah... I know.”

Sync huffed. “I’m more concerned with why he was wearing his old uniform. I distinctly remember him cursing that thing for a solid hour. It wasn’t amusing to listen to then and it’s worrying now.”

Jade sighed. “It sounds like Asch is currently more concerned with staying out of the Tartarus’ brig,” he said. “He’s probably got something else he’s working on as well.”

Reighn frowned. “By the way... They’ve got Ion.”

Anise cursed. “I let them get away!” she started once she was done emulating a sailor. I sighed.

“Relax. They were headed east. They’ll probably have to stop at the oasis in the Zao Desert. We certainly will. We’d be stupid to try to make it straight through to Chesedonia,” I said.

Jade nodded. “Yes. Although our attempt at keeping the God-Generals to find out we were going by land is now pointless...” he trailed off as his lips tugged down into a frown. “Kairi knew they were out here.”

Sync sighed. “Maybe. If she’s currently pretending to work for them, she might have known,” he said. Jade shook his head.

“You’re really dense sometimes, you know that? Don’t tell me you didn’t feel the telepathic field she had laid out the entire time she was in the factory.”

Sync blinked a few times before he cringed. “Ah... I got so used to reflexively blocking it off, because it always drove me nuts, that... no. I didn’t feel it. Because I didn’t think to look for it, and even if I had thought about it, I probably would have just locked my mind up tighter. If she feels like pushing, I’ll let her in, but... The field... tickles,” he admitted.

I raised an eyebrow. “Tickles?”

He chuckled. “Best thing I can come up with to describe it. Kairi says I’m extra sensitive to the second plane and spirit Energies because I’ve been exposed to them from a very young age, given that I fist stepped out of my body when I wasn’t even a year and half old,” he said. “Most people can’t pull that off until they’re five or six. Kairi... has a whole bunch of theories about it, but I’m not going to get into it right now because your girlfriend’s giving me an evil look.”

My eye twitched.

“Dark is my bodyguard, not my boyfriend,” Natalia hissed. Jade looked smug.

“See? I told you the two of you—Oomph!”

“Thank you, Dark.”

I chuckled at the scandalized look on Jade’s face. “You’re lucky Sync’s here. I don’t think he’d appreciate it if I started in on our little game from yesterday.”

Jade cringed. “I’m not sure if he’d try to kill you, for implying we have that sort of relationship, or me, _because_ you’ve implied we have that sort of relationship...” I nodded.

“And I don’t really want to find out until we’ve got Kairi to minimize the damage.”

Jade groaned. Apparently he hadn’t wanted to find out, period.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Sync asked. I shook my head.

“You’ll find out... When Kairi... and probably Asch, too... can help minimize the damage.”

Sync made a face. “That doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable about this.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I’d prefer it if he didn’t bring it up at all, honestly.”

“I’d prefer it if you’d stop insinuating that I’m in a relationship with my bodyguard/boss,” Natalia and I chorused.

In hindsight, I should have known Natalia would have spoken. But, oh well.

Jade smirked, and I moved to punch him again. He dodged, this time. For once.

“You know, I’m starting to wonder if the two in a relationship aren’t actually Dark and Jade,” Guy said, the look on his face telling me he knew quite well that he was about to be skinned, gutted, and hung up on a mantle, even as he spoke.

“I never took you as the kind of person to have a death wish,” Tear said. Guy chuckled nervously.

“It got their attention, didn’t it?”

I huffed. “Okay, okay, I get it, we need to get going. So? Get going. Jade’s at the back of the formation because he’s a fonist, and I’m not in front anyway,” I grumbled.

Probably thankful for the excuse to start walking away quickly, Guy turned and... well... walked away quickly.

“Do you think I could get away with dropping an arte on him by accident?” Jade asked me quietly. I shrugged.

“I was actually thinking about talking to a couple of ladies at the oasis, see if they’d be willing to hound him for a few hours.”

“I like the way you think... when I’m not on the other end.”

“You two really worry me,” Natalia said, deliberately joining Anise and Tear, who were a couple yards ahead of us. Sync had jogged to catch up to Guy and Luke in front, Reighn joining us in the back.

“Hey... Do either of you know a magicks-transfer arte?” Reighn asked after a moment. Jade looked surprised.

“I have a magicks-draining arte, if that counts...?” he said. Reighn shook his head.

“No, that won’t help.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” I asked. Reighn looked at the two of us before sighing.

“Well... I rarely use higher-level artes, so I never noticed it, but... Aerith knows this arte that can bind your magicks, sort of like a fon slot seal. The only way to actually get rid of it is to overload the bindings, which requires someone to transfer some of their magicks into the person affected...” he said. Then he groaned. “Aerith went and tightened it down to the point where I can only use one arte, other than the one I need for summoning my blade. I’m usually a fonist, see. I may be good with my scythe, but I don’t like to use it that often.”

“What is it you need, again?” Tear asked, having dropped back a bit.

“A magicks-transfer arte.”

“How much do you need?”

“Not much. My reserves are as topped-off as they’ll get for now.”

Tear glanced up ahead. “Luke, Guy, Sync, slow down a minute!” she called. Luke turned around and groaned.

“What now?” he whined as the rest of us came to a stop as well.

Tear ignored him, slipping into a casting stance. Fonons drew around her as a white glyph appeared, different from her usual violet, before a similar glyph formed under Reighn’s feet. “Impart thy power! Charge!”

Reighn gasped, then made a face. “Ow... I forgot how much that hurts...”

“Monsters!” Sync called. I glanced back. A group of six.

Reighn frowned. “Let’s see... you gave me just enough...” the blue-haired man slipped into a casting stance just as Luke and Guy caught up to Sync.

We’d already knocked two of the Rhinoboars off the roster when Jade and Reighn unleashed their artes, Jade hitting the two on the right with a Stalagmite, while Reighn...

“O fountain of frost! Crackle!”

‘Fountain of frost’ indeed.

Luke slipped his sword back into its sheath and frowned. “That was easy.”

I frowned. “Don’t get complacent,” I warned. Tear nodded.

“Yes. Most monsters around here shouldn’t be too difficult to defeat, but there will be some that are challenging,” she said.

“Reighn... where did you learn that arte?” Jade asked as we started moving again. Reighn smiled.

“Old family archives, back when they existed. Our family had a habit of producing fonic geniuses. I was already messing around with fonic artes when I was six, so I’ve got a few artes in my arsenal that would’ve gone down with Hod, otherwise,” he said. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“Your family? But... I see. Hmm... You say you were six... You wouldn’t have been given any of the forbidden arte scrolls your family had locked away in their vaults.”

Reighn’s smirk was evil. Truly evil.

“Oh, those?” He paused a moment before chuckling. “Those were the first ones my mother put in front of me. And... I _might_ have slipped a few of them out when Aerith, Matthias and I took the rowboat to Grand Chokmah.”

Jade turned to Reighn, looking almost hopeful now, and Reighn grinned at the expression on the normally unflappable colonel’s face. “Next time we’re in the area around Daath, remind me to stop by home and pick one up,” he said. “I think... Yeah. The Absolute-Prism Sword-Meteor Storm scroll should serve you well.”

Jade looked so happy, I almost dared to start singing about him and Cantabile again, just to make sure he hadn’t lost his mind.

“Colonel? Are you okay?”

Apparently Anise had noticed Jade’s odd behavior as well.

Reighn grinned. “Oh, I just promised Jade he could have a look at a few fonic artes my family was notorious for letting no one outside the family touch.”

Sync made a face. “Happy early birthday...?”

Jade chuckled. “Well, if nothing else, it’ll give me something to terrorize all of you youngsters with once the fon slot seal’s gone. There’s no way I’m trying one of those artes until then, but that doesn’t mean I can’t at least learn the theory behind them,” he said. Reighn nodded, then looked around at the rest of the group.

“Anise, Tear? You two are fonists as well, yes?” he asked. Anise nodded happily, while Tear was more... reserved.

“Yes, but I focus mainly on healing artes,” she said. Reighn nodded.

“That’s fine. I know an arte off one of those scrolls you could use... Although... Van might have taught you already. I remember I taught him when I found him in the Order... Resurrection?”

Tear stared over her shoulder. “You taught him?” she asked. Reighn shrugged.

“Sort of... I’m a seventh fonist too. He taught me to control them, I let him look at one of the scrolls I’d brought with me. Really, it was more a matter of working it out together,” he said. Tear nodded.

“I see... Van told me the theory, but I haven’t figured it out for myself yet.”

“I’ll help you,” Reighn said.

Needless to say, most of the rest of the journey to the Zao Desert was filled with Reighn talking to Jade, Tear, and Anise about the ‘forbidden’ artes his family had collected over the years. I didn’t join in, because I knew I’d never be able to use normal artes, but Sync did after a bit, which resulted in me prompting Luke and Natalia to pay attention. Even for a melee fighter, having at least one arte in your arsenal widened your versatility.

That having been said, I stopped everyone for an hour’s break at the edge of the desert, and prompted Luke and Guy to start collecting firewood while Natalia and I left to hunt something that wouldn’t immediately break up upon death.

However, I’m sure I managed to baffle everyone with my strict orders to not set up tents.

Once Natalia and I returned and handed our prey over to Jade, since it was his turn to cook, Anise and Luke turned on me.

“Why are we making camp but not setting up for the night?” Anise asked, obviously annoyed. I crossed my arms.

“Because you don’t want to walk across the desert in the middle of the day,” I said. “We’re starting in tonight, while the sands are still warm, and then once the temperature drops too low for comfort, we’ll set up the tents and sleep. Someone’s going to have to be on watch for bandits, they’re worse in the Zao Desert than anywhere else in the world. That person’s going to wake us all up when the sky starts getting light.”

“Let me guess, we’ll be stopping again once it’s too hot to keep going?” Reighn asked. I shrugged.

“I was gonna say noon. We walk until it’s hot, we’ll barely get anywhere,” I said. “Once it cools off again, we’ll get back up and go. Jade, you, me and Reighn are going to have to watch the canteens. If we do this right, we’ll hit the oasis the day after tomorrow... But...”

Jade nodded. “It’s amazing how much water you go through without realizing it.”

Luke frowned. “Is the desert really that bad?”

I chuckled. “Take it from someone who’s been lucky enough to get to ride a nice, warm liger through it at night up until now, except for the first time I tried to go through during the day. Danté found me and decided I was in bad enough shape I wasn’t worth his effort to try to kill.”

Luke made a face, and Reighn sighed.

“We don’t have the luxury of making progress that quickly. So we’ll have to make do for now. There’s a fine line between keeping hydrated and taking in water too quickly,” he said. Jade smiled.

“And, on that happy note, dinner’s ready.”

“He put sage in it...”

I snorted. “You should try it. Koran liked it.”

“I’d tell you to go find a hole, but it’d probably be someone’s den.”

I laughed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _You have cdpict to thank for the re-run of the sage down here at the end. I was writing this chapter and got that review, and then... well... hehe..._


	26. Chapter 2.16 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guess what?! We're almost to the end of Chapter 2!

_“I’m getting the impression he picked that up from Kairi.” –Natalia_

_“There are some really serious liger curses that just aren’t effective in the human language... A shame. I’ve called Danté that a few times... It’d be nice if I could translate it properly and apply it to Mohs.” –Dark_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“I’m going to get told ‘no’ if I ask for water, aren’t I?” Natalia asked quietly. I held up my hand to shade my eyes for a moment before handing over the mostly-empty canteen.

“Dark, I get that you’re supposed to protect her, make sure she’s taken care of, all that jazz, but that’s the last canteen we have, and last I checked, it was half-empty,” Reighn said. I smiled.

“It’s fine. The oasis is just up ahead... The damn mirages are hiding it from view, but the glare off the fonstone is strong enough to see even through them,” I told him. “I’d say to stop, but... If we keep going the way we have been, it should only take us another hour or so.”

Luke looked at me, the canteen in Natalia’s hand, which she was putting the cap back onto, then toward the spark of light in the distance, then me, then back in the direction of the oasis.

“Let’s keep going,” he said. “Anise and Guy are the only ones who haven’t taken a drink in the last forty minutes or so. You said there’s only about half left?”

I sloshed the water around a little and nodded. Contrary to what the initial bets between Reighn, Jade and myself had been, Anise was actually the one who took down the most water out of all of us. I’d actually been expecting to have to rail Luke and Natalia about excessive consumption, but while Luke came in second to Anise, he had been the one to warn Natalia not to drink too much.

In Luke’s defense, he was also the only one of us swallowing a whole mouthful at once instead of taking a couple of smaller sips.

And, normally, we wouldn’t have been sharing the canteens the way we were. However, Natalia, Anise, and Sync had all neglected to pack their own (something which would be rectified once we reached the oasis), so the three of us distributing water had taken two each and decided to pass around just one at a time, so we could keep track of how much we had left.

I’d initially been very surprised by Luke’s preparedness, until Guy explained that he’d reminded Luke about some of the problems we encountered while trying to get back to Kimlasca. Water had been one of those problems. Jade seemed to have a military-issued canteen on him at all times, as did Tear, and I’d packed one, since I’d been planning on camping in the Northern Forest for a few weeks. Guy had been looking for Luke, so he’d been prepared, too.

Luke hadn’t been carrying one in the manor, and why would he? Ion hadn’t had one either, and when we caught up to Anise, she’d been without hers as well. So there had been four canteens for seven people. We’d also had just two sleeping bags—mine, and Guy’s.

They’d gone to Luke and Ion most nights, except for one night when Tear had gotten herself injured protecting Luke. He’d insisted she take the sleeping bag that night.

Natalia hadn’t thought about things like water and dried foods, but at least she’d remembered her sleeping bag and mess kit. She’d also grabbed a tent that was a size bigger than the ones Guy, Jade, Reighn and I had packed, so she, Tear, and Anise shared it while the rest of us doubled up, whoever was on watch using the extra as a shady place to keep an eye out.

Anise, unfortunately, still hadn’t had a chance to collect up her camping gear, but I’d brought along a spare sleeping bag (expecting to have to give it to Natalia), so she had commandeered that.

Sync, it turned out, had accepted a sleeping bag and a mess kit from the Dark Wings, since his were currently in Kairi’s possession, and hadn’t picked up anything else. Reighn hadn’t initially realized that Kairi had all of their camping supplies locked up in her wing pack, so he hadn’t grabbed a second canteen while in Baticul.

“Hey, is that it?”

I looked up, finally broken out of my musings, and smiled. “Yup.”

“Great. Can I have a drink now?” Anise grumbled. I blinked a few times before I realized she had been trying to get my attention for the last five minutes.

“Whoops... Sorry, Anise. Here you go,” I said, handing over the water.

Jade smirked. “You were thinking pretty hard about something. Care to share with the rest of us, since the telepath isn’t here?” he teased. I rolled my eyes.

“Artes,” I said. Then, since I’d sent my mind in that direction, of course I actually starting thinking about it. “Something to do with sand, I think...”

Luke groaned. “Can it wait until we’ve gotten to the oasis? Please?”

I shrugged, accepting the canteen back from Anise and slipping it back around my torso, following as Luke started walking again.

It only took us another fifteen or so minutes to reach the oasis, and I spent the entire time constructing a half-thought-out arte in my head. Once we arrived, however, my musing was cut short by a cry of pain.

“Luke!”

My eyes widened when I saw Luke hit the ground, clutching his head. Sync looked mildly concerned, but not extremely worried. I thought I heard Luke muttering angrily under his breath, until most of the tension in his body suddenly left and he groaned, running his hands through his hair to push it out of his face before he stood up, shakily.

“Luke?”

The redhead turned to look at me, before he looked at Sync. “How much do you trust Asch?”

Sync scowled. “Asch is one of the few people I trust, period, and is third only to Kairi and Cantabile. Why?”

Luke crossed his arms. “He said they’re taking Ion to the Zao Ruins, once they get the Tartarus up and running again. It looks like Arietta got the soldiers messed up and they went the wrong direction before being forced to stop and get sand out of the equipment,” he said. “He said if we could make the same time we made from Baticul to here, we should be able to get to the ruins before they leave.”

I frowned, and thought about that a moment.

“Why do you sound so worried about it, then? He’s obviously helping us,” Anise asked. Luke sighed.

“Actually... it sounded like he was repeating something someone else said.”

Sync smirked. “Kairi, no doubt. I can’t see Asch doing the mental math it would take to figure out how long it’d take them and us to get to the ruins,” he said. Jade nodded.

“Yes. And Asch is technically a prisoner. He might not have had access to half of that information. Kairi, as Major Mirage, does.” His thoughtful look turned into a smirk. “In fact, Kairi wouldn’t even have had to risk them finding out she was passing information to Asch to send along to us. She’s telepathic, remember?”

“So why didn’t she contact me?” Luke complained. “That was painful...”

Sync chuckled. “There’s a limit to how far Kairi can reach. Besides, Asch isn’t telepathic. You two are isofons. It doesn’t matter how far apart you are, you can contact each other at any time. Asch has never done it before because he never had reason to,” he said. Luke frowned.

“How do you know?” he asked. Sync cringed.

“Ah... Kairi’s seen you both on the second plane. She can’t give you numbers, but you two give off the same fonic signature,” he said. It wasn’t immediately obvious to anyone looking, but I could tell that he’d come up with a lie off the top of his head to explain that little slip-up. Then he shook his head. “I might be Ion’s replica, but even he and I give off different signatures.”

Jade nodded, seemingly accepting this answer, even though I had a feeling he knew it was a lie. Well, I guess he figures if they think he believes Sync, they’ll go along. “Well, then. I’d say we should go after them, but... The Zao Ruins were supposedly lost two thousand years ago. We’d waste time trying to find them, and I’d rather not get lost in this desert,” he said.

Natalia folded her arms and looked smug. “Well, it’s a good thing we know where they are, isn’t it, Dark?” I gave her a completely baffled look, and she deflated, her expression becoming exasperated. “You’re telling me you don’t remember?”

“Well, we’re screwed,” Anise said cheerfully. Er, somewhat.

Natalia huffed. “East! The Zao Ruins are east of here!”

Tear frowned. “How do you know?”

“Because Kairi told me the first time she came to Baticul.”

The many conversations of the day flooded back to me... One particular one regarding the Zao Ruins seemingly dancing around in my mind to taunt me. I groaned.

“Fine. But we’re doubling up on canteens,” I said. “Kairi said she never made it far in, and I’m getting the really bad feeling—“

“It’s fucking long.”

“Thank you, Sync.”

“It’s long, and dusty, and hot, and there are a _lot_ of monsters.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “And you know this because...?”

“Ah...” I started, more of that conversation coming back. Sync turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “I take it Kairi did take the two of you after all?” Sync growled under his breath, and Sorylle and I sweat-dropped. “No need for that kind of language, now...”

Natalia giggled. “I’m getting the impression he picked that up from Kairi.” 

I scratched the back of my head. “There are some really serious liger curses that just aren’t effective in the human language... A shame. I’ve called Danté that a few times... It’d be nice if I could translate it properly and apply it to Mohs.”

“Ahem... If Kairi and Asch think we need to leave by tonight, then we need to get our supplies together and get some rest, quickly,” Jade said, once again taking charge. I nodded.

“I picked up a bunch of gald while we were in Baticul. I’ll take Guy and... Sync... We’ll go get the extra canteens and fill them,” I said. Guy shifted his weight to the other leg and looked at me.

“Mind if we find a man by the name of Gee while we’re at it? Pere said he’d be able to teach me something,” he said. I shrugged.

“Actually, why don’t you do that instead? I can take Tear.”

Guy smiled. “Thanks, Dark.”

Jade frowned. “There should be a large tent set up... There, past the water. It’s set up to block the sun so people can sleep. Someone’s going to have to volunteer to stay up so we leave at the right time,” he said.

Reighn and Sync exchanged a look. “I’ll stay up,” Reighn offered. Jade nodded.

“Alright. Anise, if you’d come with me? I’d like to go restock on our medicine and dried foods. Make sure to get to the rest tent as soon as possible.”

General comments of agreement rose around the group before we split up, Reighn and Jade handing over the four canteens they’d been carrying to Sync and Tear. Luke and Natalia wandered off with Guy for the time being, while Reighn slipped into one of the many merchant tents around the area.

Once we found the well (which had a tent selling camping supplies, including canteens, next to it), we got to work. With the three of us filling six canteens each, rather than the unappealing prospect of nine each had I only brought one other with me, we cut through the work quickly... As well as a good deal of the bag of gald I’d brought. It was a good thing a second bag was still stashed away in my wing pack.

Once all but one of the canteens was tucked away, the three of us headed for the tent Jade had pointed out.

It seemed that he and Anise had beaten us there. Jade had, thankfully, picked up a wing pack in Baticul, so I handed over six of the canteens we’d filled before pulling my sleeping bag out and laying down. Sorylle slipped in behind me and curled up, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I woke up maybe an hour later, to find Reighn shaking Sync awake carefully. “Thought we weren’t taking turns?” I spoke up quietly.

Reighn froze and glanced over his shoulder at me.

I was already slipping out of my sleeping bag, carefully depositing a still-sleeping Sorylle on the floor next to me, as I rolled it up.

“What are you doing?” Sync asked quietly. I smirked, slipping my sleeping bag into my wing pack and pulling half of the remaining canteens out to place them next to Jade’s sleeping bag.

It was a good thing he was on the opposite side of the tent, because while I could walk stealthily, the talking might have woken him.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked as I picked up Sorylle. Sync had finally gotten out of his sleeping bag and started rolling it up. “I’m coming with you.”

“But, Natalia...” the green-haired boy started. I shook my head.

“They’ll be right behind us. She’ll understand.”

Sync handed his rolled sleeping bag over to Reighn, who put it away in his wing pack before tucking the little box into his coat.

“Let’s get going then. Preferably before we wake Jade.”

I nodded, still clinging to Sorylle. She wasn’t as easy to carry as she had been.

It was still ridiculously hot outside, but I had the feeling we’d be running until later than we usually stopped anyway, so I didn’t complain. I knew we’d have to deal with the cold later.

Good thing I had Sorylle.

I resisted the urge to knock my head off of something solid for that thought and followed Sync and Reighn out of the oasis.

“How many canteens to we have?” Sync asked.

“Six.”

Reighn nodded. “Two for each of us... I take it you left more than just the six with Jade?”

“I gave him six when we first got back, then fell asleep before I could give those to you. Since we’re leaving, I figured they’d be better off if they had the water,” I said.

Reighn smiled. “Yeah... You think things through pretty quickly, huh?”

I chuckled. “Kinda the point,” I said. “So, east... Well, you’ve been there before, Sync. You can find it again, right?”

Sync chuckled, scratching the back of his head nervously. “Sure...”

“You weren’t really paying attention the first time, were you?” Reighn guessed. Judging from the expression Sync wore, I’d say the answer to that is ‘yes’. I laughed.

“Let’s just head east then. Quickly.”

Sync nodded. “If we get close and it’s cool enough we don’t have to deal with mirages, we’ll see the ruins.”

Then he turned and started walking.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I didn’t mean for Sync to start cursing in liger! Really I didn’t! But don’t worry, it doesn’t happen often. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve only written it in once so far._


	27. Chapter 2.17 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to end Chapter 2, and then back to cleaning for a bit.

_*Between Anise, Arietta, Aerith, and Star, I’m so sick of little girls that I might just kill one...* –Kairi_

_“Are we there yet?” –Dark_

_“Trust me, Asch got separated from me and Kairi on our way back out when we were visiting here, and if it hadn’t been for Kairi’s telepathy, we’d have never found him.” –Sync_

* * *

**Reighn’s POV**

Alright. I’ll admit it. I was hot, and tired, and very close to snapping at the liger who was using my shadow to stay cool.

Not that I could blame her. If I was her size, I’d be using someone’s shadow to my advantage as well.

“Hey...”

I looked up from my feet and leveled something just short of a glare at Dark. He cringed.

“I’ll hold that thought for a few hours...” he said.

Which, of course, just made me curious.

It was a good thing, I decided, that I was too busy cursing the heat to really consider asking him what he’d been about to say.

However, as the air finally started to cool off (though not the sands, which I’d be grateful for later), Sync glanced over his right shoulder. “When was the last time you took a drink?”

Dark scowled and pulled out one of the canteens he’d been carrying. Apparently, not recently enough. I’d barely been paying attention to myself and Sync, to be honest. Apparently Sync had taken it upon himself to make sure Dark was getting enough water, too.

“How much longer is it going to take the Oracle Knights, do you think?” Dark asked. Sync sighed, flopped down on the sands for a moment, and wiped away some of the sweat on his forehead.

“I don’t know. That depends on...” he trailed off, and I frowned, wondering why he’d... wait...

Having heard about it often enough from Sync, it took little effort for me to reach out and snag what honestly felt like a butterfly dancing around my head.

*—going to be leaving these guys to deal with it while we go ahead,* I caught Kairi saying.

*Great... Are we still going to have a chance at getting there in time, or...?* Sync asked.

*It sounds like Arietta doesn’t want to leave until morning, so yeah. Even with the griffins, you’ll probably have plenty of time,* a new voice piped up. Asch, if I remember correctly.

*By the way, Reighn... I hate to have to say this, but your little sister is a bitch,* Kairi added.

I couldn’t help it, I chuckled. *Oh yes, I know. I found that out about the same time your brother was being an ass by chasing ours across Rotelro Bridge,* I said. I got the impression that Kairi was smirking.

*Right... I’d better get some sleep. Between Anise, Arietta, Aerith, and Star, I’m so sick of little girls that I might just kill one...*

*Wouldn’t that solve some of our problems, though?* Dark asked teasingly. Kairi’s almost-maniacal laughter filtered through.

*Not enough to be worth it, unfortunately. Not enough to be worth it... See ya tomorrow!*

With that, the connection snapped, and I took a moment to massage my forehead. It felt... weird. I looked over at Sync and crossed my arms. “So, what did I miss?”

Sync took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh before standing up, turning, and walking. “Arietta, Ion, Asch, Flick, and Kairi are taking griffins to the Zao Ruins because they’re still having trouble with sand where it doesn’t belong. They’re also taking Twilight via Arietta’s hresvelgr, because it’s large enough to carry a liger,” he said. I frowned.

“So if we have to fight, we’ll have to deal with Arietta, Flick, Kairi, Twilight, and the hresvelgr? Or will one of them be staying back to keep Asch and Ion in line?” I asked. Sync frowned.

“We don’t know. I doubt the hresvelgr will be fighting. It’s there to carry Twilight. If one of them does stay back to keep them in line, it’ll probably be Twilight, but Kairi might stay back too. Logically, Arietta should be the one to do it, but she’s never been one for logic, so unless Kairi brings it up...”

“Let’s not worry about it for now,” Dark interrupted. “There’s no use worrying over something we’re not sure of.” I nodded, seeing the sense in that, then shoved my hands in my pockets.

“So... You were saying, earlier...?”

Dark took a deep breath. “I take it... You’re waiting until you’ve actually got the time to talk to start apologizing to Kairi?”

I swallowed and looked away. “Yeah... Though I tried to start earlier when we were in the factory,” I muttered. That, and... How the hell was I even supposed to begin?

Van had known exactly where Kairi, Asch, and Sync were because I’d been reporting on them for months. Kairi’s death had been well-faked; had Van not lost his hold on her, no one would have known. Asch’s will had probably been close to broken before he’d found out Kairi was alive, and what would have stopped him from helping Van’s ideals then? Thinking back on it now, I don’t know why I ever went along with it, either. And Sync... Sync was alive only because Cantabile had found him before his heart gave up, and because she and Nephry had refused to lose that last piece of Kairi.

What about Dark? What if I hadn’t delivered the message? Kairi was his friend, and that liger had died so soon after... Did I really want to know what he’d be like if Kairi really had died?

One more person came into my mind, but I refused to actually think about Jade’s feelings on the matter. We were so similar, after all, and even after everything Aerith’s done... I couldn’t even begin to imagine what I’d feel if she were gone.

_I took a deep breath. “You’re not angry with me?” I asked tentatively. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know the answer, honestly._

_But Kairi just shrugged. “You caught me on an off day. I don’t have the energy to be anything more than irritated,” she said. Almost as if it was no big deal... “Besides, whatever keeps the boat floating at the end of the day.”_

_And I couldn’t help but relax and force down a smirk, because the way she’d said it told me she knew my situation very well._

I frowned. It wasn’t often my memories would come up unbidden, but it was usually a good idea to  pay attention whenever they did.

Still, hours later and now half-stumbling in the dark, I still had no idea why that memory in particular had come up.

“Brr... Okay, I quit. I’m tired, sore, hungry, and now cold on top of everything else,” Sync complained, pointedly flopping down on the dunes. The sand had long since lost its warmth, and I smirked before pulling a tent out of my wing pack.

“Here. You two get some sleep. I’ll take first watch,” I said, handing it over to Dark, who had reluctantly put Sorylle down. I smirked. The little liger was probably quite warm.

Wait a second...

“Sync, stay put,” I ordered, seeing the green-haired teen about to stand up to help Dark. He looked up at me with a scowl as I walked over, knelt down, and muttered a fonic verse under my breath.

I couldn’t hold this up for long, but I could do it long enough to check Sync’s ribs.

Thankfully, they were all still doing just fine, and I let the seventh fonons go before nodding once to a petulant Sync and walking off a ways.

Dark growled something to Sorylle, and the young liger padded over to me to curl up in my lap.

I was already lost in my thoughts though, as I finally realized why that memory in particular had come up. Kairi had a habit of simply _understanding_. The question that had been plaguing me for months, of how I could begin to apologize to Kairi if she was still alive, had a very simple answer. I just needed to start with an ‘I’m sorry.’ Because if Kairi needed more than that, she’d ask for it.

That thought really did help me put my mind at ease.

I couldn’t help but feel a big smug that I’d been right about Sorylle, though. She really was quite warm.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

“Are we there yet?” 

I resisted the urge to groan, punch myself in the head, knock Dark upside the head, or anything else that would give away my frustration.

“And here I was thinking I was the youngest one here...” Sync muttered. Dark chuckled.

“No. That would be Sorylle.”

“I don’t think she counts.”

Sorylle growled something, and Dark started laughing. “And she’s got the same sense of humor I do, apparently.”

I rolled my eyes, then paused. “Hey, Sync. Is that it?” I asked, pointing a little off to one side. Sync groaned.

“Thank you for noticing that. I’d have walked right past if you hadn’t,” he said, turning and heading toward what looked like towers poking up out of the sand. Dark and I exchanged a look before shrugging and following him. If that was it, then it meant we weren’t lost in the desert. Bad thing to be, that. The desert’s not a nice place to be lost in.

I took a moment to take another sip before frowning and stopping. Then I grabbed Dark. “Freeze!” I called, since Sync was out of my range.

Sync stopped and looked over his shoulder to me, and I pointed up at the griffins flying overhead. Far enough overhead that we wouldn’t be noticed if we weren’t moving.

Once they were past us, the three of us exchanged looks and took off running across the sands.

“Sync, does Reighn know about...” Dark started. Sync was quiet for a few minutes.

“I haven’t told him,” he said finally, and I frowned. “Besides, it’s not exactly my place to do so. It’s Kairi’s secret.”

Which just makes me more curious. Thank you, Sync. Thank you.

I kept my mouth shut and resisted the urge to start questioning the green-haired boy. He should know better than to start talking about things like that in front of me.

I was honestly quite happy to reach the ruins. More because my dark coat was starting to suffocate me than anything else.

“They’re already inside. Let’s go,” Sync said. “And be careful. They’ve left the griffins pretty close to the entrance.”

I nodded, pulling my scythe off my back for a moment as we stepped inside the ruins so I could get my coat off. Dark smirked, but was smart enough not to say anything, simply held out his hand to hold my scythe for me. I was actually quite glad Sync was more preoccupied with something below us as I tucked my coat away in my wing pack.

I’d just strapped my scythe back on when Sync sighed. “No good. We’re going to have to fight the monsters,” he said. I glanced over the edge and frowned. Sync was right. The griffins and the hresvelgr were lounging around between us and where I could see colorful hair disappearing further into the ruins.

We all shrugged and headed down, taking our time so that Arietta wouldn’t hear her monsters screeching as we killed them. Once we were sure we were in the clear, the three of us settled into casting stances.

“O roar of the earth! Ground Dasher!”

“O noble heart, loose thy flame to raze mine enemies! Witches’ Circle!”

“O fountain of frost! Crackle!”

The monsters, predictably, started screeching the minute our artes erupted underneath them, and Sync rushed forward to start attacking, a knife in each hand to maximize the damage his martial arts style could do. Dark and I stayed back, Dark to shoot, me to cast.

And Sorylle ran forward as well, latching onto the wings of the larger monsters and grounding them for a few moments each so they couldn’t fly out of range of my artes. Dark smiled and settled into a casting stance again, calling out what I guess was an order in a growl.

Sorylle jumped straight up and—just barely—latched onto the hresvelgr, which had been harassing Sync for the majority of the battle.

I’d already been casting, so I switched my target to the blue monster before unleashing my arte. “O brilliance, show your wrath! Photon!”

I frowned when I realized Dark was gathering second fonons. So far, the only artes Sync and I knew about were Archangel’s Wing, Witches’ Circle, and Halo. So, what was this?

“Vile worm of the dunes, grant judgment!” I blinked a few times. “Sandstorm!”

Sync flipped back out of the way, Sorylle under one arm, and we watched the small tornado of sand whip up around the screeching hresvelgr.

Dark smirked when the sand dissipated to reveal a quickly-separating monster.

“That’s what you’ve been working on since we entered the desert?” Sync asked, putting Sorylle down and heading for the next monster, a griffin. The former assassin chuckled.

“I can create artes pretty quickly when I actually put my mind to it and have inspiration,” he said. I frowned, unleashing another Crackle and killing off one of the griffins. Sync’s knives found the throat of another and it went down, while Dark shot down a third. Now that we could focus on the weaker monsters, they were falling quickly. We were quiet for a bit as we continued to finish off the griffins.

Then Dark frowned. “I don’t think I should use it again for a while, though,” he decided, slipping his guns back into their holsters. Sync looked up—yes, _up_ , oddly enough—at him.

“Why not?” he asked. The black-haired boy sighed.

“You know how fonslots can only handle so much stress, so fonists have to start out with low-level artes and then go up? Sandstorm is perfect for me and my little situation, but now there’s a really uncomfortable pressure on my fonslots,” he said. Sync nodded.

“Ah. So, basically how I’m feeling right now after dropping Ground Dasher.”

“Pretty much. I’m not sure how safe it is for you to be using higher artes, anyway, if your fonslots are in that bad a shape.”

Sync scowled. “It’ll be fine as long as I don’t push it too much. Part of it’s just the fact that two months of bed-rest have completely totaled my body.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Zion did more damage than the bed-rest,” I stated. Then I finally slung my scythe back over my shoulder. “We should get going. The God-Generals may or may not have heard that. The monsters were quite loud, and I don’t know how well it echoed down here.”

Sync shrugged. “It didn’t. There’s sand all over the place, even down here. That absorbs most of the sound. Trust me, Asch got separated from me and Kairi on our way back out when we were visiting here, and if it hadn’t been for Kairi’s telepathy, we’d have never found him.”

Dark groaned and headed over toward the doorway that would lead us further into the ruins. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Sync, Sorylle, and I followed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _When I wrote this chapter, I’d completely forgotten that Kairi and Reighn had been talking via telepathy in the abandoned factory. Hehe... whoops. Oh well._


	28. Chapter 2.18 - Race, Double Agent!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...How to Procrastinate Like a Professional:  
> Procrastinate on cleaning by doing that other thing you've been procrastinating on all month. x_x

_“Of course we’d have to deal with Seal Guardians...” –Flick_

_“I’m not usually this petty, but... I told you so.” –Asch_

* * *

I had to admit it. I was impressed. Even with the speed at which our group was moving through the ruins, the boys and Sorylle were catching up.

“Is anyone else getting sick of the bats?” Asch asked with his trademark scowl as he sheathed his sword. Not the one Luke had given him, no, he said he’d lost that one just days after receiving it, no thanks to Van. In fact... it was the exact same sword he usually had in the game.

He wasn’t pleased about it, but at least he was getting to fight.

Or at least, that was the mentality he had forced himself to adopt.

I just smirked. “What’s the matter with the bats?” I asked teasingly.

“They’re annoying.”

“You should fit right in then,” Flick piped up.

I couldn’t help but snicker at the familiar line being spoken by a couple of people who would probably commit suicide if I ever let them know about it.

See, in the game, when you come across a large group of monsters and have Luke in the party, he’ll sometimes pop off with ‘these guys are annoying,’ to which Jade replies ‘you should feel right at home, then.’

So, yes. I was amused.

“Ugh. Could we at least attempt to get along?”

I rolled my eyes. “This, from the girl who’s started more than half of the arguments we’ve had so far today.” Arietta did a wonderful job of shutting up then. “Come on, let’s just get going.”

Most of the rest of the walk to the Daathic Seal was quiet. Well, really it was quiet until we hit the bridge. At which point, the entire thing started shaking.

“Son. Of. A.”

“Please don’t finish that,” Asch muttered as we raced off of the bridge. Flick just laughed darkly, and we arrived in front of the Daathic Seal.

Then the trouble started.

Twilight growled a sharp warning, and I drew my sword again quickly. Arietta grabbed Ion and started to retreat toward the seal, only to have something like a rock drop down in front of her.

Another one chased a trio of boys and a small liger right into us.

“And we’ve been followed...” Flick muttered. Sync scowled.

“Much as I’d love to start an argument with you, we have bigger problems to deal with!” he hissed. Twilight growled to Arietta and Valkyria, and the three managed to get Ion out of the way, while the rest of us split into two groups. Asch and I split up, Asch running off to fight what... honestly looked like some kind of a mutated rock Viera from Final Fantasy XII. The one I had to deal with had the appearance of a saber tooth tiger.

Still made out of rock, of course.

“Of course we’d have to deal with Seal Guardians...” I heard Flick mutter as she raced over to help Asch. Sync decided to come over and assist me instead of Asch. We had Reighn to cover us while Dark helped Asch and Flick.

Arietta, bless her soul, seemed to get that we were temporary allies and was casting Barrier and whatnot on Sync, Reighn, and Dark as often as she was on me, Flick, and Asch.

And Twilight seemed to be talking to Sorylle about something. I didn’t bother to open up a connection to figure out what.

The damn tiger was trying too hard to kill me for me to chance losing my concentration.

I ducked under another swipe of the paw and slashed at the monster, then scowled when I realized that my blade was doing literally nothing to it.

“Crackle!”

I took a moment to stare at the arte I recognized from a completely different game before I flipped back, out of the way, and settled into a casting stance of my own.

“O twisted door of distortion, open wide! Negative Gate!”

When not using Energies, it is much, much easier to do as Reighn suggested to me many, many months ago.

_“You know, most people just stick with the base artes and leave the field of fonons artes to the fields of fonons.”_

Thankfully, that at least did some damage, and I contemplated whether to pull out an Energy-influenced Infernal Prison or a normal Splash.

“Sync!” Reighn called out what honestly sounded more like a reprimand than anything else. I glanced over and spotted the second fonons, realizing what he was doing even though I’d heard him say in the factory that Zion had screwed up his fonslots.

I was caught between exasperation at his idiocy and gratefulness for making up my mind for me.

“O roar of the earth! Ground Dasher! Ack!”

I pointedly ignored the third part of that, even though I wanted to run over and make sure the boy I thought of as my little brother was alright.

“Try this, then! Icicle Rain!”

Sync ran back in toward the monster, mostly just trying to hold it off while Reighn huffed and started casting something that was definitely not Crackle.

I heard him muttering a fonic verse behind me, and vaguely recognized it as the one he’d used to summon the blade of his scythe back in the factory. Then he ran past me, swinging the scythe around to attack the monster.

It was a good thing the monster had relatively low ‘fonic defense,’ since the blade was entirely made of fonons. Sync stepped back to cast Turbulence repeatedly, while I was sending off Splash over and over again to help Reighn.

Then Twilight and Sorylle roared in conjunction, both shooting off bolts of lightning (Sorylle aiming for our tiger, Twilight for the Viera thing). The two Seal Guardians seemed to lock up as the damage was done, and then they fell apart, Sorylle staring for a few minutes before growling up at Twilight happily.

Arietta made a series of hand signals, and I grabbed Sync before he could notice them.

Dark caught the message, though, and since I was already busy restraining my little brother, he managed to slip past me. Reighn scowled, but a pointed glare from Sync had him, Dark, and Sorylle (who had just barely slipped between Twilight’s legs) running back the other direction.

“Pft... Real nice, Arietta. Turn around and attack us the minute the Seal Guardians are gone,” Sync grumbled. The pink-haired girl looked like she was shaking, though.

“You... you look like Ion...” I resisted the urge to flinch, realizing that Arietta still thought Ion was the original. “Why...? Why do you look like Ion?!”

“Arietta...” Ion started. Sync scoffed.

“Isn’t it obvious?” My grip on his arms tightened. That tone of voice... I hadn’t heard that tone of voice... since I’d played the game.

Arietta’s eyes widened. “You’re a replica...” Then she turned to Ion, even more shock showing on her expression, if that was even possible. “This is why you’re weaker, isn’t it?! You were replicated...!” She trailed off for a moment, studying Ion’s expression even as he started to speak.

“Arietta, I’m—“

“You knew!”

Ion shut his mouth... more due to the glare Sync was giving him than the one Arietta had leveled on the poor Fon Master.

“That doesn’t change much right now,” Asch said. “Dark and Reighn left Sync behind, which means the others are probably right behind them.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?!” Sync hissed. “You said you’d never go back! Said you’d never let Van use you like this! What the hell changed?!”

I wasn’t sure whether to knock Sync upside the head for his idiocy or pat him on the back for his acting. Mostly because I wasn’t sure if he was acting or not.

Asch’s expression became a cold mask that I barely recognized from those few weeks when we had first set out from Daath. “I thought you and Kairi were dead. Where else was I supposed to go?”

The icy tone in his voice sent a shiver down my spine, and I realized that they weren’t acting. Not really. Just throwing a little more emphasis on their current irritation with each other.

Sync finally became slack in my grip, and I tightened it softly as a form of encouragement.

Arietta’s anger dissipated, and she glanced between Sync and Ion before her eyes grew steely. “Sync.”

The boy lifted her head just enough to send a weak glare her direction.

“Can you undo the seal on the sephiroth?”

Ion’s eyes widened as he realized what Arietta was suggesting. “No! He can’t—“

“I can,” Sync cut in. Ion looked at him, fear in those wide green eyes. A few shades lighter than Sync’s, actually, now that I cared to look.

“No you can’t! The stress it’ll put on your body—“

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Sync said.

“How the hell can you say that?!”

We all turned. Sure enough, there stood a wide-eyed Luke, a slightly winded Jade right behind him with an irritated Natalia and Dark catching up.

Asch huffed and turned to Arietta. “I’m not usually this petty, but... I told you so.”

Arietta growled something at him and Twilight, Dark, and Sorylle hung their heads. It took every ounce of my self-control to NOT bust up laughing.

Sync refused to meet Luke’s eyes. “Figure it out on your own time,” he said, turning his head to look over his shoulder. “Let me go. I’ll do it.”

I took a moment to push against his mind, and he opened a connection even as I released him. *I take it you’re planning on putting your excellent acting skills to the test?* I asked.

*Yeah. Can’t let Arietta know I’m stronger than Ion, right?*

I turned back to the others while Arietta, Twilight, Valkyria, and Ion moved to keep Asch and Sync away from the rest of us. Unfortunately, this left just myself and Flick against the entire Abyss group, plus Reighn and Dark.

“I don’t suppose asking you to hand over Ion is going to get us anywhere?” Jade asked. Arietta scowled.

“Forget it! I’m not handing over Sync, either! The more Daathic Seals Sync can undo, the less Ion will be hurt.”

Luke seemed to go from horrified at what he’d translated to be Sync not caring about dying—though for those of us who knew better, it was Sync’s attempt at telling Ion he’d be fine—to completely and totally pissed off. “Fine! Then we’ll take them back by force!”

Asch groaned quietly, and I sighed, drawing my sword as Arietta growled at Twilight. The silver liger stepped up next to me as the others readied their own weapons.

Then all hell broke loose.

I’d fought Jade, Tear, Luke, Dark, Guy, and Anise before, on the ferry, with Dist’s—admittedly pathetic—robot and Twilight as my allies.

This time, I was forced to fight right-handed, there were three extra opponents who needed consideration (I hadn’t counted Sorylle the first time because she was too small to really be much more than a nuisance to distract Valkyria), and I had Flick as an ally instead of Dist’s robot.

We were still doomed, I was sure.

There were three of us, and, counting Sorylle, nine of them.

Sorylle, Reighn, and Luke attacked me.

And, in keeping with my previous train of thought, Sorylle was a nuisance. Luke was a heavy hitter, if not a fast one (which was the main problem Twilight was having with Guy), and Reighn’s Crackle and Photon were irritating to try to avoid.

So I wasn’t too surprised when I was the first to fall, followed quickly by Flick and then Twilight.

“All three of you together and you still couldn’t beat them...? Humph,” Arietta grumbled. Behind her, Sync was on his knees, breathing hard, and I frowned.

*That doesn’t look like acting to me, no matter how good you are.*

*Fon slots...* Sync mumbled back.

I cringed, now that I was able to write it off as a wound, since I had many.

Arietta looked around, and Flick stood shakily and walked over to her, murmuring something that I didn’t hear. The pink-haired girl looked unhappy, but she nodded and Flick turned to look at the others.

“We’ll let Sync and the Fon Master go for now. I suggest you all leave, however. We’re standing under the desert. I have no qualms about bringing it down on our heads just to stop you,” she said.

I sighed quietly. So, not only had Flick taken Sync’s God-General uniform (albeit a feminine, purple version), she also seemed to have completely taken his place on the antagonist line-up.

So long as she doesn’t suddenly pull out a Curse Slot, I’m okay.

Then I made another face, which could still be written off as pain, as I realized that with Zion on their side, they didn’t need Flick to be able to make the Curse Slot.

That was when I remembered that they hadn’t been attacked in Chesedonia.

I groaned and slumped against Twilight as Ion, who was mostly supporting Sync, much to the other replica’s chagrin, walked past.

Luke slipped Sync’s other arm over his shoulder and took over from Ion, and Sync reluctantly let the redhead carry most of his weight.

*Take care of him,* I ordered Reighn. He glanced back.

*I will.*

Once they were gone, Asch crouched down in front of me. He’d already healed Flick, so he went about healing me next.

This was the main reason why he had gotten to come along.

Asch muttered the fonic verse for the scanning arte once he’d healed the obvious damage. I frowned, but didn’t argue, because that would probably result in Arietta and Flick finding out about the horrible condition I was in. But I was worried about the way Asch’s brow was furrowed.

*Asch...?*

*Akzeriuth has been enveloped by miasma, hasn’t it?* he asked. I blinked a few times, trying to keep a bored expression.

*Yes...*

Asch finished with checking me over and stood up. “We should stay here tonight, if for no other reason than because they’re in as bad a shape as we are. I don’t want to come across them on the way out if it’s possible,” he said aloud. Once the two girls had started going about setting up camp, he turned back to me, and glanced at Twilight. “Kairi and I will see if there’s anything down here to add to our meal tonight. We’ll leave Twilight here.”

While Twilight didn’t look happy with this arrangement, he didn’t argue, and Asch was able to drag me out of earshot. I snapped the connection, since I figured it was now a moot point.

“I don’t want you going to Akzeriuth.”

I scowled. “I’ll be fine, Asch.”

The redhead stopped in front of me and I ran right into him and a strangely vice-like grip.

“Kairi, please...”

I looked up at Asch, and sighed.

“I won’t promise anything. But I’ll try.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I’m so far ahead and so unused to Reighn being in the party at that point that when I came back to beta this and saw Reighn’s name I was like ‘wait, what?!’ Yeah... NaNo devours your soul..._


	29. Chapter 3.1 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sick of scrubbing floors...

_*If there isn’t any coffee, I seriously suggest making some.* -Kairi_

_*Asch should have realized that sending just Sync with us wouldn’t stop you from riding me to Chesedonia.* -Twilight_

* * *

I gently shook Asch awake, and the redhead grumbled quietly under his breath before crawling out of his sleeping bag. Twilight, whose leg had been my pillow most of the night, was already awake.

Flick had handed off the third watch to me, rather than Arietta as originally planned, and had even given me another wing pack.

A moment’s inspection revealed it to be Asch’s, complete with most of the gald we’d had before getting split up, since Asch had been the one in charge of our finances. It had always been interesting. Asch made sure we had money, Sync was careful about our medicines, and I—being the best cook out of the three of us, since Sync could barely make an edible meal when we’d met and Asch’s meals were a bit lacking in variety—had been in charge of food.

So of course, when we’d been separated, I’d had a lot of food and a small amount of Gels—mostly orange—a Panacea, and a Life Bottle in my bag, along with a few thousand gald, which had then been stuffed into my wing pack. Asch’s bag was rather similar, with some fruits and vegetables that wouldn’t spoil too quickly, some Apple Gels, a Panacea, a Life Bottle (these two were pretty much standard-issue in our group), and a modest amount of gald to throw people off of the wing pack. Sync’s bag was practically identical to Asch’s, but with a few Orange Gels thrown in.

I shoved the wing pack into Asch’s chest and wandered around camp for a little while, waiting for him to finish up.

It didn’t take him long, once he actually got moving, and once I was sure we were far enough away that Arietta and Flick wouldn’t hear, I sighed. “I’m sure they’ll have some coffee prepared by the time we catch up.”

“Where are they, anyway?” Asch asked. I shrugged.

“Far enough ahead I can’t hear them because whoever’s awake and on watch isn’t Dark, Reighn, Sync, or Jade. I highly doubt they left the ruins. If there’s one positive about the Zao Ruins, it’s that they form a very convenient shelter.”

Asch nodded, not exactly in the mood to argue at this hour.

‘This hour’ being about four-thirty in the morning. And, as we all should know by now, Asch is not a morning person. I glanced at Twilight, who had a happily-napping Valkyria curled up on his head as was becoming very, very usual. I smiled at the sight before turning and continuing along the path.

Three and a half hours later, and without realizing I’d dropped my field, Asch and I arrived at the rounded entrance area. I frowned, noting no signs of camp having been made here, and forced the field back into place even as Asch groaned.

“Great. We’ve probably missed them,” he grumbled, even as I located all of the minds I’d been looking for. I giggled and grabbed his arm, pulling him back the way we’d come.

*If there isn’t any coffee, I seriously suggest making some,* I warned before cutting of the connection and letting the field collapse again.

Instead of making the turn that would lead us back to the sephiroth, we kept going straight, down to where you normally find the crystallized second fonons in the game.

“Decided you didn’t want to risk getting caught unawares when the rest of us left, eh?” I teased as we stepped into a camp that was only half torn down.

Dark looked up and smiled, walking over with a mug of coffee that Asch accepted gratefully. Jade looked up at the two of us and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll assume this marks the end of your little stint as a double-agent?”

I nodded. “Yeah. The God-Generals don’t trust me and aren’t going to trust me enough for me to get any useful information out of them. Besides... If I have to pick between three annoying little girls and one, I’ll take the one, thank you. Less chance of me murdering someone,” I said, sitting down and helping myself to breakfast. Asch sat down next to me, and Natalia took a deep breath before preparing a plate and setting it next to him.

The plate was ignored in favor of the coffee.

“Asch...”

“Don’t talk to me.”

Natalia looked affronted, and I sighed. “Asch, I’m sorry, but you’re the one who agreed to this last night. Don’t snap at Natalia.”

He grumbled something under his breath before taking another gulp of coffee, and Sync sighed.

“You woke him up early this morning, didn’t you?”

I shrugged. “Arietta’s a late riser when she doesn’t have a liger or a soldier to wake her, and Flick was on watch until right after I woke up. They’re probably both still asleep. That, and I kinda wanted to catch up before you left the ruins.”

Asch grumbled something else before finally putting the mostly-empty mug down and sighing at the plate still sitting next to him. “Thanks, Natalia,” he mumbled just barely coherently as he picked it up and started eating.

Twilight nudged the back of my head, and I reached back with my mind to open a connection.

*Late riser or not, we should leave as soon as possible. Arietta won’t be happy when she wakes.*

I nodded and reached back to scratch behind his ears absently.

“Are you going to share with the rest of us, or do we have to sit around and wonder?” Guy asked. I shrugged.

“Basically, we should hurry up.”

Jade chuckled and adjusted his glasses, then frowned. “While I’m quite happy to have my sister back... I’m not sure I’m comfortable traveling in this large of a group,” he said. “Even if Arietta and Flick are well behind us, we’ll attract attention.”

Asch looked around, dull, sleep-addled emerald eyes finally sharpening as his mind started spinning. He looked over every person present with a frown.

“We’ll split into three groups, then,” he decided. Luke frowned.

“When did you become the leader all of a sudden?”

I reached over and knocked him upside the head before shooting Asch a warning glare. Then I turned back to Luke. “Asch spent five years as the commander of special operations in the Oracle Knights. He knows what he’s doing. And Jade’s right. There’s too many of us to risk moving in one large group.”

Luke clenched his jaw to bite back a retort and reluctantly nodded.

Asch sighed and glanced around. “You’re all going to Akzeriuth on a mission, right? If we inform the Malkuth-side consulate, they should be able to commandeer two ferries.”

Jade crossed his arms. “If we’re going to do something like that, I should go with the first group. I’ve got the authority needed with the Malkuth military to pull that off.”

Asch nodded. “You, Natalia, and I are going in the first group. You’re the only real representative from Malkuth here, the first group will need that influence.”

“But you also need a representative of Kimlasca, so you’re taking me with you,” Natalia realized. Asch looked around the group for a few more minutes.

“Luke and Ion need to be in the second group... Guy and Tear will go with those two. Anise, you’re with the first group. You’re a Fon Master Guard, you’ll be able to confirm that Ion’s coming.”

“That still leaves Dark, Reighn, Sync, Kairi, and the monsters,” Tear said. Sorylle growled at her.

“I’m going with Dark.”

“Mieuuuu! Sorylle’s going with Dark, and I’m going to go with Master Luke!” Mieu said cheerfully.

Twilight growled at Valkyria, who mewed a few times. “Valkyrie wants to go with Kairi, because she’s supposed to, but she is willing to protect one of Kairi’s friends if ordered to. I will act likewise.”

Jade adjusted his glasses and looked at Dark, who huffed and translated for the older liger. Asch frowned and started counting.

“Jade, Natalia, Anise, and me... Luke, Guy, Tear... Dark, you and Sorylle go with the second group, Reighn’s coming with the first. We’ll need someone else who can act as a short-range fighter.”

“Uh, Asch? You’re leaving me and Kairi with Twilight and Valkyria?” Sync asked.

Asch took a deep breath, expression turning into the familiar blank mask of a soldier, and my eyes widened as he stood up. “Asch!”

“You four are going to Grand Chokmah.”

“What? Why?!” Sync yelled.

Asch shot him a look. “Ask Kairi while you’re on the road.”

“Asch!”

The redhead turned to look at me. “We had this conversation last night.”

I scowled, clenched my fists, stood, and walked (okay, stomped) away.

I rounded a corner and sank to the ground, trying not to scream.

“What was that all about?” Luke asked. I heard Asch sigh, and there was a soft thud. “Asch?!” I guess he flopped back down on the ground.

“She’s sick, isn’t she?” Jade asked, barely loud enough for me to hear. Asch was quiet for a while, but I could image the face he was making. “And since Sync’s still in bad shape from the sephiroth, you’re sending him with her.”

“We don’t need coddled, Asch,” I heard Sync grumble. But he sounded more tired than angry.

“I know. But I lost you two once... I don’t think I can stand it a second time.”

The tears finally broke loose, and I forced myself to stand and walk further away so they wouldn’t hear me.

I don’t know how long it took Twilight, Valkyria, and Sync to find me. Nor did I really care by that point.

“You’re not just sick, are you?” Sync asked softly, alerting me to his presence. I sighed.

“I’d forgotten... During the game, Tear’s the one operating the passage rings. She... she got sick, because miasma-tainted seventh fonons got stuck in her body. I... I’ve absorbed as much as she had... No, more. And I had no idea...”

I hadn’t been watching Sync, so I had no warning for when he managed to wrap me up in a desperate hug.

It took me a few moment to notice him shaking, and I frowned, uncurled myself carefully, and pulled him closer. “Shh... It doesn’t really hurt anymore. Not with the medication I’m on.”

Sync shook his head. “Kairi... I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about the kind of pain you have to be in... It’s just... I just got you back...”

I bit my lip and tried to curl up again, this time around my little brother. “I’m not going anywhere. Not if I can do anything about it.”

Sync didn’t respond for a long time, but when he finally started moving again, I let go. He stood up and took a deep breath, then looked at me. “The others left some time ago. Arietta and Flick even passed our campsite. It’s a good thing you were hidden here, or they might have found you.”

I sighed. “So, we should definitely go.”

Twilight growled softly and nudged my head again, and I reopened the telepathic channel, adding Sync in as well and tentatively trying to add Valkyria. The last one didn’t work, sadly. *You want to go to Akzeriuth regardless of the miasma, yes?* he asked. I nodded, and I’d have sworn the liger looked smug. *Asch should have realized that sending just Sync with us wouldn’t stop you from riding me to Chesedonia.*

Sync looked worried, but I smirked. *We could easily beat them to the ferry.*

*No telepathic field, though. Asch and Jade will catch you the minute you lay one down,* Sync warned me, a reluctant tone to his voice. I smiled and reached over to hug him. Of course, now that he’d gotten his ‘too confusing’ emotions under control, he stiffened in my grip, and I giggled.

“Let’s go!”

Twilight growled an encouragement, and I jumped up onto his back, pulling Sync up in front of me because he was smaller and not used to riding ligers.

The one positive thing about riding a liger in the desert, or anywhere, really, is that most monsters will leave you alone. Also, due to the fact that ligers actually have very good eyesight, we were able to avoid both of the groups that were travelling on foot.

We arrived at Chesedonia sometime in the late afternoon, and we stopped by Din’s shop in the bazaar, since Sync claimed the others wouldn’t be catching up until just before sunset. Din was kind enough to supply me with paper and envelopes, and I started writing. One letter was written to Nephry, another to Emperor Peony, and a third to Selenia. Then I wrote a letter that would hopefully find its way to Noir.

Once I was done with my letters, Sync took them to the carrier pigeon service, while I changed out of the Oracle Knights uniform. It was comfortable, sure, but it was even nicer to finally be able to wear my own clothes again.

“They’re here,” Sync said. I nodded once and grabbed my bag and my wing pack, putting both where they belonged and turning to follow him out of the shop.

“Sayonara, Kairi-sama, Sync-san!”

Sync kept his mouth shut until we’d left the shop. “Why does she have to speak like that?” he whined. I just giggled and continued toward the port. Then I frowned.

“Damn. Which ferry?”

Sync looked over at the Malkuth consulate building and walked over, creeping along the wall. I resisted the urge to face-palm, as the scene was eerily similar to the one from the game.

Sync ran back over a moment later, glancing over the ferries quickly before pointing to one. “That one,” he said. I sighed and hopped back up onto Twilight, pulling him up after me.

We ended up hopping onto one ferry, then jumping over to the correct one. Since the only other people onboard would be Asch, Jade, Natalia, Anise, Reighn, and the attendants, we slipped down into the cargo hold, just to be safe.

“We won’t be arriving until tomorrow morning. We should get some sleep until then,” I said, having moved some boxes so we wouldn’t be immediately obvious to anyone who walked in.

“Kairi?”

I sighed as I unrolled my sleeping bag and laid down, again using one of Twilight’s legs as a pillow.

Sync unrolled his sleeping bag right next to mine and Twilight shifted so he’d have a pillow-leg too.

“Do you think there might be a way to fix the miasma with Energies?” he asked.

I frowned and thought over it. “I know how Ion fixed it in the game, but I won’t let that happen this time,” I said. Then I sighed. “I might be able to recreate something similar with Energies, but I’m not testing it right now. I’m tired. We really should get to sleep.”

Sync muttered a general agreement...

And if he slept a little closer than was strictly comfortable for me, I didn’t bring it up.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... I honestly have no idea what happened to those letters. Okay, not true. Nephry’s was a warning of things to come. So was Emperor Peony’s. But Selenia’s? And Noir’s? Not a frickin’ clue. Then again, it might just explain something a little later on..._


	30. Chapter 3.2 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, I'm sick of cleaning, period. But unless I want to have a LOT of stuff left to do tomorrow... gotta do it.

_I could practically hear a voice in my head saying ‘challenge accepted.’ –Kairi_

_Who’d have thought Sync the Tempest would have a little kid hobby like collecting marbles? –Kairi_

* * *

“Sync... Sync!”

The green-haired boy woke slowly, but I didn’t care. We were already docked, which meant we should take the chance to get off the ferry. _Now._

“Sync, come on! I’ll let you take a nap once we’re off the ferry, okay, just wake up!”

Bleary green eyes opened and Sync leveled something just a little short of a scowl at me. “I’m up, I’m up...” he grumbled. “But I’ll have you know I’m not that happy about it...”

I giggled. “Come on, sleepyhead.”

Sync got up, straightening his pants and pulling his coat on while I rolled up his sleeping bag.

I caught him humming as he went about his task, until he suddenly cut off when he realized I was staring.

“Sorry...”

I shook my head. “No... Continue, please. I... It sounded familiar.”

He took a deep breath and went back to humming. It wasn’t long before I realized I was right. It was familiar.

 _“I wish I was on yonder hill. 'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill, and every tear would turn a mill~”_ I sang softly, causing Sync to stop again, even as I continued on. _“I'll sell my rod, I'll sell my reel, I'll sell my only spinning wheel, to buy my love a sword of steel.”_ I stopped there and sighed. “Siulil a Run...”

Sync’s face flushed. “I... I don’t know where I learned it. I never understand the lyrics, either. Just... It’s like the voices are jumbled, but not... I don’t know. It’s confusing.”

I frowned, then shrugged and started singing from the beginning, since Sync had brought it to my mind and it was now stuck there. Of course, I stopped singing once we emerged on the deck and made a break for the Deo Pass. Twilight had no arguments about carrying both myself and Sync, and Valkyria was quite content with staying curled up on the liger’s head.

Once we were safely on the road, Sync and I dropped off of Twilight and walked... in the grass, rather than on the road, since liger prints are distinctive. I went back to absent-mindedly singing whatever Celtic Woman song came to my mind.

It bothered me that Sync seemed to know at least half of them. And the half he didn’t know were the ones I didn’t listen to or sing as often, or at least, not in front of my friends. Did I sing more than I thought I did?

But Sync assured me that he had no idea I’d even heard these songs, let alone known the lyrics for them, so I let it rest for a while. This was obviously a conundrum I’d have to address at a later date.

“You know, if we go through the Deo Pass before Asch, he’ll catch onto our tracks,” I said a few hours after we’d left Kaitzur. Once Sync had woken up, he, much like me, didn’t really need or want to go back to sleep. So we’d been traveling.

Sync was quiet for a moment. “What do you propose we do then?”

I stopped and crossed my arms, looking back toward where the port was. That was a good question. We couldn’t risk going ahead of Asch, because he’d recognize the tracks. But if we just sat here to wait... Hang on.

“Sync, did they say anything about going to Choral Castle?” I asked.

Sync looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “No. Why?”

I nodded to myself and started walking again. Not ten minutes later, the two of us turned off to head down a side road, the one that led to what had once been Duke Fabre’s vacation home.

“Why are we going to Choral Castle?” Sync asked.

“I want to see if the Sword Dancer’s there. I kinda hope it is. The Ultimatus is a really good sword, and the Genius Rod or whatever the heck it is you get out of the second battle isn’t that bad either,” I said. Sync’s expression didn’t change much, and I sighed. “Tales of the Abyss. The character’s weapon types are fixed, which kinda makes sense, honestly, but still. Anyway, as you go through the game, you upgrade each character’s weapons to do more damage in addition to leveling up. With me so far?”

Given that I’d only explained game _events_ to him so far, I figured the short ‘tutorial’ would probably be a good idea.

Sync looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding.

“Alright. So, there’s an optional ‘boss’ that you have to face three times over the course of the game. The first time is at Choral Castle, and the cutoff is the fall of Akzeriuth. Because you’re a good five to ten levels higher when you’re headed for Deo Pass than when you first visit Choral Castle, it’s generally suggested that you wait until the trip to Akzeriuth to face the first Sword Dancer. Still not lost?”

Sync nodded.

I smirked. “The first Sword Dancer is pretty much pointless, but the second and third drop weapons in the game, and you can steal a sunlight chamber off of the third one... You’re making a face that is definitely not confusion.”

Sync stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out... well, it looked like a large, golden-colored marble with silver wrapping around it. He handed it to me for a moment and I realized that there was something written into the metal... which I couldn’t read, because it seemed to be in Ancient Ispanian. I blinked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Fon slot chambers are real?”

He looked a bit bashful. “They’re really rare nowadays, regardless of color, because they were all made back in Yulia’s time. No one knows how to make them anymore. Sunlight chambers are especially rare, but I guess you already know that... I found that in the river in Tataroo Valley.”

I handed the sunlight chamber back over to Sync and he stuffed it back in his pocket. I took a moment to think this over.

“That’s... interesting.”

“Um... I have a habit of collecting them.” I turned and raised an eyebrow, and Sync ducked his head. “Well, I kinda found one outside Daath when I was just a couple months old, a grass chamber, and I was really upset when Mohs took it away, because it matched my hair and eyes... Cantabile found one on a mission a few weeks later and gave it to me... And since I’d been made a God-General by that point, Mohs couldn’t just confiscate it, and no one knows exactly how to use them, so... I’ve got a small collection stashed under one of the monuments in Daath.”

I resisted the urge to giggle at Sync. Who’d have thought Sync the Tempest would have a little kid hobby like collecting marbles?

Then I stopped and actually thought about it for a little while. “We’ll have to stop by Miyagi’s dojo the next time we’re in Baticul.”

“Huh?”

 _Now_ Sync was confused, and I smiled and ruffled his hair a bit, just to annoy him.

“The game. The party gains the ability to use the FS chambers after they stop at Miyagi’s dojo. Maybe he has an idea. If not, I might be able to figure it out. I know what purpose they serve in the game, so...” I trailed off. Then I shrugged. “Eh, enough of this seriousness.”

Sync sighed and smiled a bit, and I started humming. We had left what was left of the road some time ago, and before I knew it, Sync and I were playing around, rolling in the grass after he tackled me, and taking turns humming and singing.

_“Could these walls come crumbling down? I want to feel my feet on the ground. And leave behind this prison we share, step into the open air~”_

Twilight seemed to catch onto the basic rhythm of the songs, and his growls soon accented our voices, until Sync and I dropped to the ground near the cliffs around Choral Castle, laughing and not having a care in the world.

Unfortunately, our happy moment was shattered by... well...

“SYNC EVERETT OSBORNE!”

Sync froze, and I paused before making a face. _‘Everett Osborne?’_

The woman who stormed over to us wasn’t limping, but I recognized her even without the tabard, since her hair and eyepatch were pretty distinctive.

Twilight and I stepped back, Valkyria hiding behind me.

Sync swallowed, stood up, and turned to face Cantabile.

“Hi... Mom.”

It’s probably a good thing I was not on the edge of the cliff, because I sat down quite suddenly. “ _Mom_?!” I choked out quietly.

Cantabile took a deep breath. “You made Nephry let me believe you were dead,” she said in a monotone. Sync fidgeted and looked down, unable to looked her in the eye any longer.

“Van knew... And... If he thought... I just... Mm...”

Cantabile closed her eye and focused first and foremost on keeping her breathing slow and steady. Then it snapped open again, and she enveloped Sync in a hug. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

Sync bit his lip and practically knocked her over returning her hug.

All of a sudden, I felt like I was intruding, and I smiled, stood, and headed into the castle, Twilight and Valkyria on my heels.

When I stepped into the entrance hall, the first thing that drew my attention was the sword stuck into the floor in the center of the room. I smirked. So, the Sword Dancer was here after all.

*Will we face it without Sync?* Twilight asked after our usual nudge and connect deal. I shook my head.

*No. I’m not so arrogant as to think I stand a chance against it alone, even with your assistance. No, I’ll wait for those two to finish.*

*They are already done, it seems,* Twilight said, looking over his shoulder. I turned, and raised an eyebrow at Sync and Cantabile.

“You two have a bit of explaining to do, I believe,” I said, crossing my arms. Sync flushed pink.

“Um... Well... You know how Zion attacked and I was dying?” he started. Cantabile sighed.

“My birth name is Evelyn Osborne... Nephry is my sister-in-law,” she started. “Still... I’ve practically raised Sync, and when the healers said his chances of survival were... very low...” She stopped here and gripped Sync’s shoulder, and he wrapped a hand around her arm. “I wasn’t going to let Mohs have the satisfaction of knowing that Sync had a nameless grave.”

Sync chuckled and gave me a look, and I smiled and opened up a connection. *Besides... You’re the one who wrote me up as ‘Sync Osborne’ in the passage ring locks.*

I giggled a bit at that and nodded, then realized something.

The one-eighty I’d taken from happy and amused to horrified immediately worried everyone around me.

“Kairi?” This was a concerned Sync.

I looked up at Cantabile. “Does Van know?” I managed to choke out. She shrugged.

“He knows I thought of Sync as a son, even called him such once or twice after... But I never told him the adoption was official.”

“Damn!”

“Kairi?!” Now Sync was borderline terrified. Well, as terrified as he can get.

I’m not sure when I started pacing, but I’d been at it for a while by the time Cantabile lost her patience, stepped forward, and stopped me in the middle of my track.

“You’re going to wear out the floor. What’s wrong?” she asked.

I looked up at her with wide eyes, then glanced at Sync, then took a deep breath.

“You cannot, under any circumstances, tell Dorian General Grants.”

Cantabile’s eye widened. I never referred to Van as such, she knew this. For me to do so... “I worry this involves Sync... I will never.”

I nodded and took another breath. “Asch, Sync, and I... we added another layer of locks to all of the sephiroth, save the Absorption and Radiation Gates,” I said. She frowned. “It’s a basic lock, a riddle. What’s red and green and gold and green all over again?”

Cantabile paused a moment to think about that before her eyes widened. “You, Sync, and Asch.”

I nodded. “The answer that unlocks the passage ring is Asch fon Fabre, Sync Osborne, and Kairi Balfour. I started doing that just weeks after Sync and Asch left Daath,” I said. “But if Van suspects...”

Cantabile and Sync exchanged a look, both now looking suitably horrified by what I’d realized. Sync took a deep breath.

“You switched up the first three colors for each sephiroth, Asch hates being reminded of his family with a passion, and you didn’t know Cantabile was an Osborne until a few minutes ago. There’s a chance it’ll at least slow him down,” he said.

I frowned, turning to start pacing again. “Perhaps... Perhaps just long enough for us to change it, put a new set of riddles in place,” I said slowly.

“No!”

Cantabile and I both turned at Sync’s outburst. His already pale skin had reached a point where I was sure it would transparent if he were any paler.

“Kairi, you _know_ why we can’t do that, why _you_ can’t do that!” he started. Then he stopped, breathing hard, and started shaking his head. “No...”

I turned away and went back to my pacing. “If I have to do it, I will.”

“ _Kairi_!”

I closed my eyes. “Don’t do this to me, Sync. Please.”

“Don’t do this to _you_?! How the hell do you think I feel?! I—“

“I’m already dying, Sync. You’d rather that burden be forced onto more than one person?” I snapped, stopping and putting a hand to my face. I was just short of crying again.

Small arms wrapped around me, followed by longer ones, and a furry head pushed into my stomach gently.

“I’m sorry.”

I sighed and managed to turn around so I could wrap up my little brother in a hug of my own. “As am I. Besides... I haven’t looked into fixing myself up, yet. Who knows? I might figure something out,” I said, forcing a smile. Cantabile kept up a strong grip on me though.

“What did you mean about already dying?” she asked quietly. I sighed.

“Miasma. There’s miasma trapped in my body,” I admitted. I looked up at her. “I’ll tell Jade and Nephry on my own time. Please... Don’t tell anyone what we’ve talked about here.”

She nodded. “Alright...”

We pulled apart, and I reached up to scratch Twilight’s head, petting Valkyria as well.

Then I looked at Ultimatus and frowned. “I will deal with you in the morning,” I decided.

The odd feeling I’d been getting off of the sword the entire time, one of curious hope, suddenly shifted, and I grinned, recognizing it all too well.

Anticipation...

I could practically hear a voice in my head saying ‘challenge accepted.’

Sync chuckled, while Cantabile sighed.

“You two are crazy.”

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Yeah. The music thing was random, in that it just recently popped up like this. Keep in mind, Sync starts humming pretty much whenever there’s no one around to hear it... Or when he_ thinks _there’s no one around to hear it. (Lookup ferry to Baticul.) However, there is a point behind it. Okay... it comes up something like ten chapters later (and I mean chapters, not parts). But there is a point behind it._


	31. Chapter 3.3 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, April. Camp NaNoWriMo. d&d Crawl leaderboards.
> 
> And updates, when I can be bothered to remember them. x_x

_What’s with all the lefties, eh? –Kairi_

_“Kill it, what else?” –Kairi_

* * *

“...Do you two want another sword?” Cantabile asked as Sync and I stepped back out into the entrance hall. Twilight growled something, and I shrugged.

“If you want to help, go right ahead.”

Cantabile had been in Choral Castle under orders to disassemble the fomicry machine. She’d just finished when Sync and I showed up. The two of us had figured that, riding on Twilight, we’d have no difficulty beating the second group to the Deo Pass while still remaining behind the first.

So long as we defeated the Sword Dancer quickly, that was.

I stepped up to the sword and reached out to touch it.

Darkness erupted from around the base, and the Sword Dancer rose up out of that, Ultimatus looking like it was slung across its back while two other swords were drawn.

I jumped back a couple of times and let the fonons of my own sword condense, even if I was mostly just a fonist for this battle.

Sync rushed forward with Twilight and Cantabile to either side of him, and I noticed right away that Cantabile used the exact same sword style as Guy... except, left-handed. What’s with all the lefties, eh?

“O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!”

The Sword Dancer screeched and slashed at Sync and Cantabile, leaving Twilight a chance to attack from the other side. Valkyria was even getting in on the action, mostly just irritating the heck out of the opponent, though.

I smirked and started casting again, this time dropping a Sapphire Riot on it, followed up by another Infernal Prison.

Then Sync jumped back a couple of times and I ran in to take his place for a few moments. True, my strikes didn’t have a lot of power behind them, but at least I was still doing damage.

I rolled under a swipe, then jumped to the side and hissed. My knee. Of course.

I cursed quietly as the Sword Dancer batted Cantabile to the side. Judging from face she made standing up and the way she, like myself, was putting most of her weight on her left leg, her leg was starting to act up as well.

I forced my leg to cooperate for a moment, at least, as we both ran back in. I let loose a Guardian Field, and Cantabile put a little pressure on her leg before smiling at me. I smiled back, since I’d noticed Guardian Field will heal the caster, too, but only if someone else is in the circle with them.

And a quick healing arte or something of the like is often enough to get my knee to stop hurting, even if only for a little while.

Which meant Cantabile and I only had so long to defeat the Sword Dancer.

“You don’t know any artes, do you?” I asked her. She frowned.

“I know a few, but I don’t exactly have the magick to use them repeatedly,” she admitted. I shrugged.

“We’ve got some Pineapple Gels, and plenty of Orange Gels,” I said, blocking a slash and then running back to start casting again. Cantabile let Twilight and Sync take over the melee fighting as she, too, retreated. I noted the odd frown on her expression before she even started casting and prepared for just about anything.

“O hellion’s roar, resound! Bloody Howling!”

I couldn’t help but cringe at the field of fonons. “Hope you didn’t need that... Raging Mist!”

Cantabile sighed. “I can make another...”

“I’ll stick to Sapphire Riot and Icicle Rain.”

Sync flipped back twice and gave us an exasperated look. “What are you two trying to do?”

“Kill it, what else?”

He shook his head and muttered a ‘never mind’ before running back at the Sword Dancer. Cantabile and I shared a short laugh before we unleashed our artes again, a Sapphire Riot to compliment her Bloody Howling this time.

Then she started running, and the field of fonons sucked up around her.

Twilight and Sync decided to back out, and that was when I finally spotted it. The pale, colorful strands of light that I’d have almost mistaken for wire.

_‘Over limit...’_

A dark field spread out from under Cantabile’s feet, and suddenly everything seemed to vanish. I recognized this from Sync and Asch using their Mystic Artes, though I usually didn’t get much warning.

The Sword Dancer froze when the dark pool touched his feet, and Cantabile smirked. “Don’t think you can escape this!” she taunted. “Gates of Helheim, release! Black Freeze!”

I watched, rather a bit impressed, as the pool of black rose up around the Sword Dancer and then froze there before shattering a moment later.

The Sword Dancer stumbled back away from Cantabile as Sync, Twilight, and I were given the ability to move again.

I glanced at Sync, who frowned, then grinned and looked over at me.

Sync ran in toward the Sword Dancer, making use of his over limit to knock it back again. I was right behind him when he hit the ground.

If it weren’t for the fact I’d gotten used to this over a couple of months of fighting alongside Asch and Sync, the way I got absolutely no warning of being half-dropped in a pocket dimension would have really disoriented me.

As it was, it hadn’t happened in a while, and I didn’t noticed that Sync was almost done until he let off with the all-too-familiar ‘Now you die!’

I used Energies to draw up every fifth fonon I could and latched onto the trail end of Sync’s Akashic Torment. “Don’t think we’re finished yet!” I hissed as Sync and I were swapped out.

The faint outline of the glyph from Akashic Torment lit up again, this time with red flame, as I took to the air, hanging there for a moment as the usual pillars of Akashic Torment reared up, but the fire collected at the tips of my outstretched fingers, rather than hitting the Sword Dancer.

“Eternal faith...” The two balls of fire were flung at the Sword Dancer with one final cry. “Sorcerer’s Rage!”

I landed and the odd half-dimension where Mystic artes were performed disappeared, revealing Sync right behind me, Twilight and Valkyria off to one side, and Cantabile in the back.

The Sword Dancer stumbled twice before falling to one knee with a dark chuckle.

_:I see... Perhaps you are strong enough to release me after all.:_

A sword materialized in the ground as the Sword Dancer began to disappear.

_:I look forward to our next confrontation.:_

And just like that, the Sword Dancer was gone.

Cantabile breathed a short sigh of relief and sat down, stretching her leg out and massaging it while watching the sword cautiously. “It’s not planning on attacking us again right away, is it?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No... You can’t feel it anymore, can you? Besides, that’s not the sword that was here before. That’s not Ultimatus,” I said, stepping forward and ignoring the fire in my right knee as I pulled the blade out of the ground, which it had been rather well stuck into.

Having custom-ordered the sword for Luke’s birthday (and having done plenty of research on swords in the past), I’d taken the time to measure my own, wondering if it really was the traditional katana it appeared to be.

A ten-inch hilt, large enough for two hands, gave way to a thirty-inch blade. Which was about an inch and a half long for an old Japanese katana, but the extra reach was well-balanced and useful for the sword style I’d developed.

This sword was very, very similar. In fact, the very base seemed to be designed after a katana, albeit without a hand guard. The hilt, if I had to guess, was about two inches longer than mine. The blade, on the other hand...

“Sheesh. Stand that thing up on point, it might be taller than me,” Sync grumbled. I chuckled and did so. Sync was 5’5”, and the sword was maybe—lots of emphasis on that maybe—a half foot shorter than him. “Okay, maybe not, but close enough.”

I laughed at his misfortune and went back to examining the blade in my hands. It was oddly light for the long length, and the hilt was rather decorative. Colorful vines seemed to wrap around it, reaching down along a few inches of the blade even. I frowned as I noted that the magenta vines carried leaves, the green carried thorns, and the dark teal...

“Those flowers look like lapis dart to me,” Cantabile said. I swung the sword around a moment, then looked around.

“Ah, there we go...” I muttered, finally spotting a bat and running at it.

Sure enough, the blade was poisoned, and I smirked, going back to examining the blade for a moment and noting the fonic alphabet written along one side of the blade. I frowned, realizing it was Ancient Ispanian. “What does Sielvinviour mean?”

Cantabile cocked an eyebrow. “Silver Clematis. Why?”

I smirked and looked down at the blade again. “A fitting name.”

Sync sighed, but smiled. “So... are we leaving or not?”

I nodded and broke the fonons of the sword down, letting them rest on my left arm. It still wasn’t completely healed, but that was fine. I wasn’t planning on switching to the new sword immediately anyway. I looked at where Cantabile was sitting worriedly. “Are you going to be okay?”

She smirked. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

I considered arguing with her, before I sighed and shrugged it off, jumping up onto Twilight’s back. Valkyria was already in place on his head, so Sync ducked over and gave Cantabile a quick hug before racing over to jump on behind me.

Twilight started running, and I focused on my knee to start fortifying it again. It wouldn’t do to have me limping when we caught up to the others.

The second group would have gotten on the ferry the morning before, and arrived at Kaitzur sometime in the afternoon. Which meant they would have made it to about halfway between the turn-offs for Choral Castle and Deo Pass. The first group would have probably camped outside Deo Pass for the night.

By the time we reached the road and started moving, I figured we’d be hard-pressed to beat the second group to the Deo Pass.

It was a two-day trip at the very least from one side of the pass to another. Asch, Sync, and I had usually taken three days, mostly to keep from exhausting ourselves. Which meant that if Asch was in the first group, they’d be taking about two and half. Enough to keep them ahead of the second group if Luke and co. decided to push it hard, but not enough to exhaust them overly.

Twilight veered into the forest at one point, and I figured we were nearing the second group. I glanced out, and noted that Sorylle, thankfully, hadn’t caught our scent.

We stopped once we reached the Deo Pass, Sync and I getting down to give Twilight a bit of a break. It was now late afternoon, and with Luke and the others right behind us, we couldn’t risk setting up camp until after dark at least.

So we started walking. Sync up front with Twilight, and myself in the back. Since my primary job right now was as a fonist, I saw no reason to put myself in the front of the formation.

Of course, that was when we weren’t attacked from behind. At least I had a sword, though, because if I’d just had my bow, I’d have been screwed.

Sync and I decided to camp under a tree that night at a rather high point in the mountains. As the light faded, I was able to spot not one, but two campfires, one a few hours behind us, the other about a day ahead.

Luke and Asch.

I prodded Sync and we slipped onto the second plane. Sync looked around with a grin, while I started looking over myself, seeing what I could do about my leg and arm... actually.

*Guess what?*

*There are more collective spirit Energies in Asch’s group than Luke’s?*

I rolled my eyes. *That may be true, but that’s not what I was going to bring up,* I said. *My arm should be done healing by the time we finish up in Akzeriuth.*

Then, just because I couldn’t resist it, I looked at where the two fires were.

Sure enough, I could just barely see Luke’s fire through the pink glow of Spirit Energies. Asch’s fire was completely hidden, however, behind the wall of pink.

Well, between Jade’s six and Asch’s seven, as well as however many Reighn, Anise, and Natalia had, that’s not surprising.

I smiled and slipped back into my body, pulling out my sleeping bag and happily curling up within, Sync and Twilight right next to me, and Valkyria deciding my hip was a wonderful bed for the night.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

_I frowned and looked around for a few moments before shrugging and walking for a while. It was strange. I usually appeared right under Cygnus. Oddly, I’d shown up under Sagittarius tonight. Once I reached my usual star-gazing area, however, I stopped and looked around for a bit before laying down._

_“Is there any particular reason why I always show up under Capricorn?” Asch asked, suddenly appearing not much later. I frowned and shrugged._

_“No idea.”_

_“If it’s any consolation, I have to run here from Gemini,” Sync said as he, too, arrived._

_Asch chuckled and laid down, Sync doing the same so that the three of us were laying with our heads together, our feet forming the points of a triangle. I let my mind drift over things for a while before I paused._

_“Sync? When’s your birthday?”_

_“Um... Shadow-Decan 22. Why?”_

_I thought that one over and smiled. “I get it.”_

_“We don’t,” Asch mumbled. I giggled._

_“Earth. The sun passes through constellations over the course of the year, and those constellations are split into twelve Zodiac signs. I was born December 7, so mine’s Sagittarius. That’s where I showed up tonight, probably because this is the first time I’ve done this on purpose,” I explained. “Asch’s birthday is closer to the end of the year, and Capricorn comes after Sagittarius. Gemini is on the other side of the circle, though.”_

_“Ah...”_

_I smiled. So, he’d gotten it after all._

_“I’m sorry.”_

_I blinked and looked at Asch, before I realized just what he was apologizing for. I sighed and shook my head. “Don’t apologize.”_

_“But—“_

_“No ‘buts,’ Asch. Besides, you’ll be taking it back eventually, anyway.”_

_Asch was quiet for a bit. “Don’t tell me you’re following Luke’s group even though I told you to go to Grand Chokmah.”_

_“We’re not,” I said._

_“Good.”_

_“You’ll still be pissed.”_

_“Just as long as you’re not in Akzeriuth.”_

_I chose not to respond to that one._

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I have no idea where Sielvinviour came from. I thought it was actually a translation of ‘silver vine’ from some other language, but I couldn’t find it when I looked later. -is shot for poor note-taking skills-_


	32. Chapter 3.4 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had some time before a sprint, so have another chapter!

_“She’s not usually this childish.” –Jade_

_“No such thing as gravity, the world just sucks.” –Kairi_

* * *

Sync, Twilight, and I were up and walking before the sun was even starting to peek over the mountains. In hindsight, this probably wasn’t a good idea, because we ended up racing each other when we hit the half-way point of the Deo Pass.

Why was this not a good idea?

“You said you weren’t following us!” Asch yelled once he’d gotten his ability to speak back after Sync, Twilight and I had walked into their camp on the third morning.

I made a face. “Actually, I said we weren’t following Luke’s group.”

Asch face-palmed, Anise giggled, Jade groaned, and Natalia and Reighn looked like they weren’t sure whether to side with Asch and Jade or Anise.

Sync sighed. “In our defense, you’re the one who put the two of us with the liger who can cover three times the ground a human can in half the time.”

This time, Asch and Jade switched actions, Anise continued to giggle, Natalia made a face that hinted she was closer to agreeing with Asch and Jade, and Reighn sighed, trying and failing to hide the small smirk on his face.

Asch huffed. “You two are going to turn around and go back to Grand Chokmah,” he said. I crossed my arms and leaned against a nearby tree.

“Nope.”

“Kairi...”

“Not listening.”

“The miasma—“

“Lalala~ Can’t hear you~”

Jade stepped over to the nearby cliff wall and let his head fall into it.

Anise and Natalia gave him worried looks. “Colonel, are you alright?” Anise asked. Jade muttered something under his breath before straightening up and pushing his glasses back into place. Then he turned back around to look at her.

“My apologies. She’s not usually this childish.”

“She’s also not usually suicidal,” Asch ground out, still glaring at me.

I narrowed my eyes. “Right. That’s your job, isn’t it?”

Asch’s fists and jaw were clenched. “Kairi...”

“I’m going to Akzeriuth, Asch. And you’re not going to stop me.”

“Of all the times to start being stubborn—“

“Asch.”

Emerald green eyes met mine, and Asch huffed. “Fine. But I swear, if you get any worse—“

“I get it. You’ve been threatening me since you found out, and you’re starting to get repetitive.”

Asch rolled his eyes and turned back to what he’d been doing when I walked into their camp. Jade crossed his arms.

“Are you sure? We don’t know how badly the miasma will affect you, if you’re sick,” he said. I sighed.

“I’m not sick. Not in the way you’re thinking,” I said. I looked away. “I’ll tell you later. I promise.”

“Come on. If we’re going to get to Akzeriuth before the others, we should get going,” Sync said.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that.”

The eight of us (seven humans plus Twilight) looked up. I scowled when I realized that Legretta wasn’t alone.

“Hello, Zion,” I hissed.

He looked about as pissed as I did, though his glare was focused on Sync. “You’re still alive, huh?” he taunted. Sync clenched his fists.

“No thanks to you.”

“I’ll be sure to rectify that mistake.”

I growled an insult under my breath as the fonons of my sword slipped away from my arm. “I’d like to see you try with me here, bastard!”

Legretta and Zion exchanged a look before they jumped down, splitting us into two groups.

Twilight, Sync, Reighn, and myself against Zion; Asch, Jade, Natalia, and Anise against Legretta.

“Stay alive,” Asch said before charging at Legretta.

I rushed in at Zion, who had been attempting to summon the blade of his scythe.

“O divine power, lend me they aid, and call forth from the abyss thy fonic blade!”

I smirked as Reighn then ran in at Zion, allowing me to jump back and start casting.

Twilight had been hovering around Sync, who had hesitated (and for good reason), but the two of them ran in with Reighn. I gave Zion credit for managing to duck and dance around all of their attacks.

Of course, with the three of them keeping him preoccupied, he forgot about me.

“Infernal Prison!”

The boy cursed and attempted to jump out of the arte.

I smirked when the edge caught him anyway.

“Damn you!” Zion hissed in my direction. I shrugged him off and started casting again while Sync rushed back in for yet another attempt to hit his original. The two exchanged blows, Sync trying and failing to avoid as many of Zion’s as possible, while Twilight continued to claw at the original.

Zion scowled and jumped up, using Twilight’s head as a springboard to get further away from his replica while I unleashed another Infernal Prison where I figured he’d land.

He wasn’t very happy with me for that, but he’d already slipped into a casting stance, somehow managing to summon the blade of his scythe before Sync could hit him. I frowned, then sighed and ran in.

“Stay back and cast,” I ordered as I ran past Sync, who had jumped back out of the scythe’s range. He nodded once before turning and putting more distance between himself and our opponent.

Reighn chose then to unleash the Photon he’d been preparing, and Zion hurled something that looked like a wide version of Demon Fang in his direction.

Reighn smirked and glanced over at Sync, who let off his first Turbulence, before making a few hand signals I recognized well, having been the one to come up with them.

‘Again, close to me.’

I frowned and considered a couple of ideas before pulling together fonons in my left hand. I wasn’t using Energies to do it, mostly because it was actually a little faster to collect fonons through my fonslots. The collected fonons were forced to condense as I reached out and let them burst. “Raging Blast!”

Zion grunted as he was tossed away, apparently not at all pleased with me. I chuckled and raced after him, dropping a Havoc Strike in before he could get up again.

Zion lashed out, nicking my side with his scythe and successfully driving me away so he could deal with Twilight again. Or, more correctly, deal with Twilight’s lightning blast.

“Turbulence!”

Another annoyed grunt, and Zion was jumping back out of where we’d pretty much boxed him in.

“Give us strength! Fairy Wing!” Reighn chanted, swinging his scythe around and creating something that looked like a light version of the altered Demon Fang from earlier. Given the name, the base arte was probably something along the lines of Demon Wing.

I raised an eyebrow when I realized the shockwave was aimed for me and Sync instead of Zion, but, noting that Sync was smirking at Reighn, I figured that was probably intentional. And, it was. A couple of small cuts healed up, and another burst of strength burst through my body.

So, it was _that_ kind of arte, huh?

I chuckled and ran in at Zion, keeping my sword between me and him so he couldn’t hit me too hard.

“Crackle!”

I jumped back to let the arte land, then cursed as a Blessed Drops came down on top of me. Hunkering down and gritting my teeth, I cradled my arm against my torso, protecting it from the onslaught of deadly popping bubbles.

“Kairi!”

“I’m fine!” I called to Jade, who had been the one to call out. I risked a glance over at the others and realized that Natalia was unconscious. Legretta must have taken a chance to do some damage to me since she’s at least down one person.

I frowned and ran back, putting Twilight between myself and Zion, while exchanging a look with Reighn. The blue-haired man nodded once and ran in, scythe blade shining as he prepared a Demon Wing.

I rooted around in my bag a moment before pulling out a small vial with a blue liquid inside. White plastic wings wrapped around the bottle, declaring its purpose, and I looked up.

“Asch!”

The former God-General finished casting Icicle Rain before turning to me, and I tossed him the vial. He blinked a few times before sighing in relief.

“Thanks!”

I smiled and started collecting up fonons again. “O demonic gate, burn to ashes! Sapphire Riot!”

Zion rolled out of the way and twirled, the butt-end of his staff slamming into Reighn’s gut.

Reighn coughed as the younger boy then kicked him away and raced toward me. I frowned and glanced around for Twilight, realizing that the liger had been knocked unconscious. He wasn’t dead, his fonons would already be separating if that were the case, but he was out of the fight, unless Life Bottles worked on ligers, too.

“Uh, Reighn? You wanna see if Twilight is revivable?” Sync asked, tossing a Life Bottle to the man in question. Reighn cringed and nodded.

“Just a minute...” He stood and started casting. “O purest water of life!”

I blinked a few times before shrugging it off and racing back in toward Zion in an attempt to keep him away from the man who was attempting to heal himself. Zion scowled and started into a spin.

“Kairi!”

The outburst from Reighn was my warning as I held my sword in a reverse grip, keeping it angled between me and Zion while my left arm was tucked against my side.

“Draconic Soul!”

I cringed as the spinning attack hit me, but once Zion was done, I leaned forward, lashing out with my sword still held in a reverse grip. The hooded boy seemed started at how easily I was brushing off the pain, but to be honest, it was nothing compared to the fire that pierced my body because of the miasma.

“Meditation!”

Regardless of above stated fact, I sighed in relief when Reighn’s arte enveloped me.

“Thanks!”

“I hate to bother you, but you wouldn’t happen to have another Life Bottle, would you?” Jade asked as he prepared another arte. I frowned and jumped back, just in time for Reighn to finally get around to reviving Twilight. Good thing, too, because Zion had been heading for me again.

I pulled out another of the little vials and frowned. “This is my last one. Sync, how many do you have left?”

The green-haired boy let off another Turbulence and reached into his bag. “Two.”

I handed over the Life Bottle and made a few hand signals. Sync nodded. “Finish as quickly as you can,” I said to Jade before racing off to engage Zion yet again.

“Of course.”

Sync was running in as well, lashing out with a well-practiced series of kicks, slashes (since he had a knife in one hand) and throwing in a Reaper’s Toll at the end before going at it again. I made use of Zion being knocked down to get in a few extra Havoc Strikes.

Then Sync made a hand signal, and Reighn and Twilight backed out, while I braced myself. One negative thing about Tales of the Abyss in real life, versus the game? There is such a thing as friendly fire.

Sync let loose a small shockwave of fonons and ran at Zion...

Only for said opponent to growl and retreat back up the cliff.

“Legretta!”

The blonde woman glanced up, nodded, and let off one final Éclair de Larmes under Natalia, who barely managed to dodge. Then she joined Zion up on the cliff.

“We’ll retreat for now. We have better things to do than deal with you. If you want to interfere in Akzeriuth, fine. We’re almost done there, anyway,” Zion stated to the eight of us in general. Then he looked down at me. “Of course, I can’t say I’m impressed with you, right now. In your condition, Akzeriuth is the last place you’d want to be.”

I scoffed at that. Zion already knew I wasn’t from Auldrant, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that he knew about the miasma as well. “What do you care?”

“You’re no use to us dead.”

I glared at him as they left, while Natalia sighed in relief and dropped to the ground. Asch groaned.

“We’re going to have to teach you guys our signals,” he grumbled. I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head, the movement catching his attention so he’d see the expression. “Legretta knew what we were doing and kept knocking us out because we had to call out orders and suggestions.”

Sync sighed. “It definitely helps,” he agreed, picking up a throwing knife that had missed its target at some point in the battle. “Kinda sucks that he ran off because I was about to drop Akashic Torment on him, though.”

I shrugged. “No such thing as gravity, the world just sucks.”

Asch and Jade chuckled at that one. “Nice to see that your humor isn’t affected by mass amounts of pain,” the former noted. I shrugged.

“That’s why we got the pain meds, isn’t it?” I stopped for a moment and looked up. “Let’s get moving. Those two slowed us down, big time, and it looks like we’ve only got the two Life Bottles left. We don’t need to linger and attract more trouble.”

Asch paused and crossed his arms. “Kairi... Are you absolutely sure about this?”

I sighed and nodded. “Yeah. There’s something the three of us need to do, anyway... Assuming Van hasn’t beat us to it.” The redhead raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head. “I’ll explain on the way... In private.”

‘In private’ here meaning ‘via telepathy.’

The rest of the trip to Akzeriuth was quiet, save for one point when we were walking through the forest between Deo Pass and the mining town, where I stopped and grabbed onto Twilight’s mane.

“Kairi?”

I shook my head, swallowed back the bile that had been threatening to come up, and continued forward. “Sorry. There’s definitely miasma here.”

Asch opened his mouth, but a sharp glare got him to shut it again. Jade glanced between us, but thankfully didn’t say anything.

We reached Akzeriuth in the late afternoon, and Jade and Asch immediately sought out the mayor.

“Hmm? Oh, Asch! Sync, Kairi!”

The three of us looked up and smiled to see Pyrope running up to us, looking much healthier than a lot of the men we could see. A little boy followed after him.

Asch stopped, and Jade grunted in mild annoyance.

“We need to find the mayor,” he reminded the redhead. Asch shrugged.

“Pyrope, where’s Jeff?”

The miner shook his head. “He’s fallen ill. As the foreman, I’m handling things in his place for now.”

Asch sighed, a sound tainted more by relief than worry. “Great. I’m here with representatives of Malkuth and Kimlasca. We’re evacuating through the Deo Pass. Dorian General Grants should have already arrived with a vanguard.”

Pyrope looked surprised, then nodded as he went back to business mode. “Of course. General Grants and the soldiers are currently helping to evacuate the mines.”

Asch glanced at me, and I sighed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _A Wild Zion Appeared! Sync used Over-limit... The Wild Zion ran away... Which is when Winx needs shot. I mean, really? Comparing over-limit to Roar? ...Okay, so it had rather the same effect, but! She really, really needed a pastime. (Probably still does, sadly. I could use one too...)_


	33. Chapter 3.5 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware the deluge...
> 
> 1/21

_*Oh, you’re a moron alright.* –Asch_

_*And you’re saying you’re not enjoying the mental image of Luke’s face when Kairi says that?* –Sync_

* * *

 

I looked around and took a moment to think before looking at Pyrope. “How many men did General Grants bring?” I asked. He frowned and scratched his head.

“Two or three platoons, one Malkuthian for sure, maybe two Kimlascan.”

“That makes sense. Between the port and the border town itself, Van would have been able to gather up more Kimlascans.” Asch sighed and turned to Natalia. “Are you going to mind if I take command of the Kimlascans?” he asked. She shook her head.

“No. I have the authority to take command, but I don’t exactly have the experience needed in a situation like this.”

Asch nodded. “Right... Jade, see if you can’t find the officer in charge of the Malkuth group. Split them up into as many squads of four as you can, I’m going to do the same with the Kimlascans.”

“The miasma is worst in the mines, make sure the soldiers focus there, first,” I added. “Once we’ve cleared out most of the mine tunnels, we should start moving people. Anyone who can walk should get some supplies ready. And carts. The worst cases are going to need to be carried.”

“Mind you, we’ll only be able to send relatively small groups through the pass, due to some of the narrower parts of the road,” Jade said.

Asch crossed his arms to think for a moment before looking up at Pyrope. “Mines, how many are down there and how bad is the miasma?”

Pyrope shook his head. “Tunnels one through six have been abandoned for some time now and blocked off. Seven through fifteen are still being mined, but we’ve already cleared eight and eleven. Fourteen seems to be the worst on miasma. Sixteen and seventeen have got the most people still inside, since those are the ones we were just digging out.”

Asch nodded. “Alright. Jade, focus the Malkuth squads in tunnels seven, nine, ten, and twelve for now. I’ll have the Kimlascans start in on thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. Once they’ve started with the work, the rest of us will head down to...”

Asch paused and glanced at me, finally noticing that I’d been prodding him in the shoulder. “Send Kimlascans down seventeen, we’ll take fourteen.”

“Did you not hear him say that the miasma’s the worst down fourteen?!” Asch asked, just short of yelling. I crossed my arms, this time prodding his mind.

*Sephiroth,* I reminded him while keep up my ‘stubborn’ façade.

He sighed in frustration. “Fine. We’ll deal with fourteen.”

I nodded once before turning to Pyrope. “Can you keep everything coordinated up here?” The miner nodded, and Jade ran off to find the Malkuth soldiers, while Asch and Natalia left to find the Kimlascans.

“Wow. I feel really useless right now.”

I chuckled. “It’s alright. The mayor probably would have questioned us more, but Pyrope knows me, Asch, and Sync very well. We’ve made a bit of a name for ourselves, killing the monsters in the mines here.”

Anise blinked. “Monsters in the mines? Isn’t that dangerous?”

I shrugged. “The monsters here seem to operate under a bit of a ‘don’t bother me, I won’t bother you’ thing. Problem is, they’ll sometimes block up a tunnel by choosing to nest down there, and the miners usually have to call in Malkuth soldiers to get rid of them, which could take weeks, and the soldiers usually end up damaging the area around the nest in their little extermination.”

“Damaged ore sells for much less, and these men need their income to support their families. Being unable to mine a tunnel and then not having good ore to sell afterwards? Plus having to pay the Malkuth military for the clean-up? Not exactly a good thing for their wallets,” Sync said.

“That’s why they like us so much. It’s a lot of monsters, but individually, they’re really weak compared to the ones around Mt. Roneal. It gives us a challenge, and it saves the miners money.”

“By the way... Where’s Van?”

I frowned at Sync’s question and closed my eyes, laying down a slightly stronger field and darting around all of the minds I’d encompassed. I growled, and Twilight seemed to sigh in exasperation. I poked Sync’s mind.

*Not here?* he guessed.

*Worse, he’s down in the sephiroth.*

*You mean at the Daathic Seal?*

*No, _in_ the sephiroth. Zion’s with him.*

*Dammit!*

*I don’t think they’ve gone to look at the passage ring, though. They’re just hanging around the entrance. Zion must have _just_ gotten here.*

“You know, now that I know about it, it’s really annoying knowing you two are having a conversation I can’t hear.”

I smirked. “Sorry, Anise. To quote Ion, ‘it’s confidential to the Order.’”

Anise blinked a few times, but Reighn was the one to raise an eyebrow. “If it’s supposed to be confidential, how do you know?”

I shrugged. “I know things.”

“Telepathy?”

“I’ll tell you later... Unless...” I trailed off for a moment before shaking my head. “No, if Sync had told you, you wouldn’t have guessed my telepathy.”

Reighn frowned and looked at Sync. “Does this have to do with what Dark asked you in the Zao Desert?”

Sync looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

“What the hell are you guys talking about?!” Anise grumbled.

Just in time for the other three to return. “What _were_ you talking about?” Jade asked, genuinely curious.

“Tales of the Abyss.”

“Huh?!” This was the response from everyone except Asch and Sync.

“Ah.” As you can probably guess, this was the aforementioned duo.

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I’ve heard you mention that before. What is it?”

I shrugged. “A game. That’s all you need to know right now. We’re supposed to be evacuating people, remember?” I gave Asch a pointed look and opened a channel. *Evacuation first, sephiroth later. Van and Zion are down there.*

We headed down into Tunnel Fourteen. A rather familiar tunnel, given the fact that Asch, Sync and I had stopped by this particular passage ring twice, as opposed to the others, which had only been visited once. Well, and then there was the recent stop at the Zao Ruins. But that was just irritating.

We spent the next two hours finding people and hauling them back out of the tunnel. As the miasma and lighting got worse, along with my strength, Asch had me focus simply on finding the people so the rest of them could fight the monsters and carry them.

We decided to call it a day around seven-thirty, and headed to the inn. Pyrope was waiting for us with two soldiers in a large room with four beds, one of three Jade had asked Pyrope to set aside for us. Jade identified the Malkuth soldier as a Lieutenant Gray, while the Kimlascan was Sergeant Anderson, addressed as such by Asch.

“Sergeant, report,” Asch ordered practically as soon as we’d walked in.

“Sir! Tunnels thirteen and fifteen are clear. We’ve only made it about halfway down seventeen, with even less progress down sixteen due to a swarm of monsters between us and the rest of the miners,” Anderson said. Jade glanced at Asch, who had his arms crossed as he looked at the rest of us.

“Reighn, Sync, and I will deal with the monsters first thing tomorrow morning. We’ll take Kairi with us for strategy,” the redhead decided. I resisted the urge to argue, given how dizzy I was feeling at the moment. “Have squad A join up with H, I, and J tomorrow. Once we’ve broken through the monsters, B can go with E, F, and G. Tell C and D to start helping the civilians with the carts and supplies.”

The Kimlascan saluted and ran off to find the other soldiers, while Jade frowned.

“How many Kimlascan soldiers do we have?” he asked. Asch sighed.

“Including Sergeant Anderson? Forty-two. Squad A has five men, the others have four each, with Anderson coordinating everything.”

Jade chuckled. “We really do think alike when it comes to things like this. There are only twenty Malkuth soldiers here, so rather than have a group of three running around, since Lieutenant Gray is relaying orders, I split them up into three groups of five and a group of four. Speaking of which...” Jade trailed off to look at the soldier next to him. “Report.”

“Tunnels seven and twelve are clear. Squad 3 is doing a final sweep in tunnel ten right now. Squad 2 is planning on making two more trips down tunnel nine before turning in. They think they might be done by then.”

Jade frowned. “Alright. Have squads 1 and 4 assist the Kimlascan squads C and D tomorrow. Report back to me once 2 and 3 turn in.”

“Yes, Colonel!” Gray saluted and ran off, and we turned to Pyrope next.

“Some of the men and women are fixing up some of the older carts so we’ll have some extras,” he said. “Most of those who are still in good shape are also trying to find weapons and shields.”

Jade nodded. “Alright. We may be able to start evacuating as early as tomorrow morning. This is a good thing.”

Asch took a deep breath and looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Kairi, Sync?! What are you guys doing here?!”

We all turned around to see Luke, Tear, Dark, Ion, and Guy. Sorylle stood next to Dark, while Mieu stood on her back, much like Valkyria was still curled up on Twilight’s head.

Asch sighed. “They got on Twilight’s back and beat you guys to the port in Chesedonia. Probably snuck onto the ferry you took across, am I right?”

I smiled as innocently as I could. “Actually, we snuck onto yours.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “If that’s the case, how did you end up behind us?”

“We made a pit stop.”

“Where?!” This was Asch, who gave me a look like I was crazy. “Kaitzur? Or better yet, why?”

I giggled. “Not Kaitzur, Choral Castle. As for why...” I trailed off a bit and held my left arm out, Silver Clematis reforming in my hand for a moment before it disappeared again. “I’ll explain that one in full at a later date,” I added. Then I yawned. “I’m going to bed.”

“It’s, like, eight!” Anise said. I shrugged and wandered over to one of the beds. Asch chuckled a bit as I dropped my bag next to it, pulled my boots off, slipped under the blanket, and let my head hit the pillow.

I barely heard Asch saying something about it being completely normal before I was out like a light.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I woke up the next morning and frowned, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Nine twenty-six.

I fought back the anxiety that threatened to make me sick as I sat up and found my boots, pulling them on one at a time, before realizing that my coat wasn’t on my body. I hadn’t gotten around to taking it off before falling asleep, had I?

I glanced over at the floor on the far side of the bed and spotted black half-hidden under the other bed on that side. I rolled my eyes, picked it up, and pulled my coat on before grabbing my bag and strapping it on as well. A note fell out, and I picked it up to read it.

_We took Jade to tunnel sixteen to help instead. Contact us when you wake up. We’ll be in tunnel fourteen again as soon as we’re done with sixteen._

_I ordered Luke’s group to help the civilians start evacuating, but Luke himself is missing. I don’t want to have to contact him because of the headache, but I will if you don’t wake up within the next three hours._

_P.S.- It’s ten ‘til seven._

My eyes widened, and a telepathic field covered Akzeriuth in an instant as I ran out of the inn.

Asch snagged the field immediately. *I was starting to get worried.*

*Sorry. Found Luke yet?*

*No. Is he outside your range?*

*There are a lot of people in Akzeriuth, Asch.*

*Right. Get back to me on that.*

I frowned and continued searching, even as I was running for tunnel fourteen like my life depended on it.

My mind finally found Luke’s, and I sighed in relief. He was in tunnel fourteen, yes, but he’d gone down one of the first few branches, which meant I had plenty of time to catch up to Asch before his replica found Van.

Speaking of which.

*Did Sync tell you where Van is?* I asked after prodding the green-haired boy in question so he’d join the conversation.

*No. Where is he? I haven’t seen him since... Actually, I haven’t seen him at all this entire operation.*

Sync groaned. *He’s down in the Sephiroth. Zion managed to get here just before us. The two of them are probably waiting for Luke.*

*Oh, they are. Luke doesn’t know tunnel fourteen like we do, he’s gotten himself lost,* I told them, fidgeting as I rode the lift down to the right level.

*What are we going to do?* Asch asked. *The three of us together might be able to take one of them on, but both of them?*

*Actually, I don’t think we’d be able to handle just one of them, even with all three of us to fight them. You’re out of practice from spending two and half months as a prisoner, I’m out of shape from dying and then being stuck in bed for two months, and Kairi’s sword arm is broken,* Sync said.

*Not to mention the fact that I’m fighting off dizzy spells every ten minutes because of the miasma,* I muttered, heading for the tunnel I needed.

*Kairi...*

*I know, Asch. But it’s kind of pointless at this point.*

*...*

*Don’t make fun of my oxymorons.*

*Oh, you’re a moron alright.*

Sync laughed at the two of us, and I heard Jade asking him what was so funny through the connection. Sync just shook his head and brushed it off.

*I am very tempted to just tell Luke he’s taken a wrong turn again,* I said, noting that the redhead in question had wandered down the next branch. Which, of course, was the wrong one. There’s something like eight or nine branch tunnels before the one that leads to the sephiroth, and another five or so afterwards.

*That would be counterproductive,* Sync pointed out.

*Can I tell him he went the wrong way when he finds the dead end?*

*Sure, why not?*

Asch sighed. *Yes, let’s all irritate my replica.*

*And you’re saying you’re not enjoying the mental image of Luke’s face when Kairi says that?* Sync said.

Judging from the exasperated mutter that came through, the green-haired boy had successfully called Asch out on that one.

I frowned as I thought about what to do with Van, and sighed.

*Ditch Jade and the others. Even Twilight and Valkyria.*

*Then we’re going after Van?*

I sighed again. *Yeah.*

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _To give you an idea of how far ahead I am when this was posted. I just wrote Kairi spilling the beans to Jade about a week and a half ago. So Kairi’s comment about them not needing to know about Tales of the Abyss yet takes a long time to come to a head._


	34. Chapter 3.6 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2/21

_“Would you quit staring, Anise?” –Reighn_

_*Hence, scaring the daylights out of me.* –Jade_

* * *

 

**Jade’s POV**

I frowned when I heard Sync laughing. This is hardly the time or place... then again.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, wondering if he was talking to Kairi.

“Just Kairi and Asch being their usual selves.”

Then Kairi had woken up, finally.

I had to admit, I was worried about her. Finding out about her leg in the Cheagle Woods had been one thing, and it had hurt to spot her limping, especially when she didn’t even realize it sometimes. It reminded me of Cantabile, and not in a good way. She had also been exhausted, and had passed out upon trying to heal herself.

Then had come the situation with Van. She had said it herself, he’d given her a concussion, which was why she’d lost her memories in the first place. I’d brushed it off then because we’d had so much else going on at the same time, and she had assured me she was fine.

Of course, Anise had gone and broken her left arm—her sword arm—after that, and I was still rather miffed with the Fon Master Guardian for that one myself.

But what worried me the most were things that had been mentioned almost haphazardly.

_“My arm, my knee, my liver and kidney... I’m a mess.”_

That had been in the factory. Where she’d told us they’d ordered pain medicine from Belkend. Medicine even stronger than codeine, which meant it was probably a morphine injection.

Asch had implied that Kairi was sick in the Zao Ruins, and between that and the conversation from the factory, I’d started to worry she had cancer, or something of that sort. Of course, then she had caught up to us in the Deo Pass.

_“I’m not sick. Not in the way you’re thinking.”_

But if that was the case...

Miasma.

Asch had been emphasizing the presence of miasma in Akzeriuth. I frowned as Tear’s words back at Fubras River returned to me.

_“If you don’t inhale a large amount over a long period of time, you’ll be okay.”_

So how much had Kairi already inhaled before coming here? The body could only fight off the miasma to a certain degree. And the liver and kidney were instrumental to that process.

I forced my next inhale to be as even as possible. No, Kairi wasn’t sick in the way I’d first assumed. It was worse. Cancer could be treated, if caught early enough. Even if it wasn’t, there were ways to hold it back, to prolong a victim’s life.

The miasma had no cure.

“Colonel? Are you alright?”

I blinked and looked down at Anise. “I’m fine,” I said, though I frowned at how shaky my voice sounded. I took a deep breath. “Why?”

Asch frowned. “You look a little pale,” he said. I know I’m not a expert when it comes to feelings and whatnot, but I’d have sworn he sounded worried.

“It’s nothing. Although I’m going to be having a long talk with you and Kairi as soon as we’re out of this mess,” I said, letting my disapproval leak into my voice.

Asch and Sync exchanged a look before simultaneously cringing. Asch then sighed and shook his head.

So, they’re still connected to Kairi.

As we came out into another ‘room,’ I noted the way Asch and Sync glanced down one of the side tunnels. The main path continued further on in a different direction, so why...?

“Ugh...”

Natalia ran forward to one of the men laying on the ground, while I moved over to another one. Asch, Sync, Reighn, and Anise split up to do a head count.

“Eleven men, and a woman, probably a cart-pusher,” Asch said after a moment. “Four of the men are already dead, two more in critical condition. None of them are good enough to walk on their own.”

I sighed. “We’ll just have to carry them, then. Leave the dead for now, with the miasma as thick as it is, we don’t want to risk staying down here for too long ourselves.”

Sync frowned. “That access tunnel is used pretty often. Why don’t you guys start carrying these people back up? Asch and I will make sure there’s no one down the access tunnel.”

Asch nodded from where he was knelt next to one of the men. “Twilight, over here.”

The liger padded over to him without so much as a growl in protest and let him heave the man onto his back. Natalia waved me over as she was next to the other man in critical condition.

Reighn picked up the woman and helped to put her on Natalia’s back before Anise enlarged Tokunaga. We managed to fit another one on the puppet’s head before Reighn and I found the two who were doing the best so far and allowed them to use us as crutches.

“If you two don’t find anyone, pick up the last man on your way out,” I ordered. Asch nodded before turning and heading down the access tunnel.

By the time we made it back out of tunnel fourteen, I was very tempted to commandeer a few of the ore carts and use them to haul people out. But, as I’d already dealt with that temptation multiple times the day before, it was easy enough for me to simply ignore it. That was simply too dangerous.

“Colonel Curtiss!”

I lifted my eyes from where I’d been watching my feet. “Lieutenant Gray, Sergeant Anderson.”

The two soldiers saluted, each of them being helpful and assisting us in carrying the miners. “Squads A, H, I, and J have finished clearing tunnel seventeen. B, E, F, and G are currently making a final sweep of tunnel sixteen,” Anderson reported as we neared the entrance to town, where everyone was gathering for the evacuation. Two groups had already left. I frowned as I let the man I was carrying lay down again, while Reighn sighed.

“Jade... I think I should stay up here and see what I can do about speeding up the evacuation,” Reighn said. I glanced over at him and thought over it.

If I was right, Reighn was the reason why Kairi, Asch, and Sync had been broken apart the way they had been months ago. I didn’t really want to trust him, but...

I looked up at the two soldiers. “This man is a former God-General of the Order of Lorelei. I’m placing him in command up here. Asch and I are too busy clearing out tunnel fourteen to focus on the groups leaving Akzeriuth at this moment.”

“Yes, sir!” The two soldiers saluted again and turned to Reighn.

The young man simply took a deep breath, and just like that, I knew I’d made the right choice.

“Have squads 2 and C start loading more of the critical conditions into the carts, as many as possible without being unsafe. I need a headcount. I know how many soldiers we have, I need to know civilians. Critical and able-bodied take priority, followed up by those that are sick but still able to walk. Would you quit staring, Anise? Oh, medics! I need a count for medics as well.”

I smirked and tapped Anise’s shoulder. “Why don’t we leave Reighn to do his thing while we do ours, yes?”

Anise nodded, turning around in a bit of a daze, and it was no wonder. Reighn was responsible, yes, but he had a tendency to be quiet, withdrawn, the kind of person who follows orders but doesn’t give them. Not the kind of man I’d usually put into a position of authority the way Evenos had, and certainly not during an emergency like this.

Just goes to show, you don’t always know the people around you.

Anise, Natalia, and I headed back down into the tunnel, Twilight and Valkyria padding along with us, though I wondered absently when Valkyria had decided to walk instead of sleeping on Twilight’s head.

I knew something was wrong when we reached the area we’d split away from Asch and Sync in to find that the man we’d left behind was still there. I frowned, wondering if maybe the access tunnel was just longer than expected. Or maybe they had found someone down that way.

I shook my head and stepped over to the man before frowning.

“Is that blood?” Natalia asked, running over next to me. I nodded.

“Yes. It looks like...” I trailed off, dozens of different theories already flying through my mind.

“Looks like what?” Anise asked.

Natalia’s eyes widened, and she gasped, though it sounded more like she was choking. I wouldn’t be surprised, given the circumstances. After all, Asch and Sync were supposed to carry him back, but they haven’t, and now he’s dead.

“Like a blade wound... It’s too thick to be a knife. It would have to be a sword,” I said, silently breathing a miniscule sigh of relief. It couldn’t have been Sync.

But what of Asch? He hadn’t changed out of his God-General uniform yet. Could he have...?

*You, sir, need to be less of a pessimist.*

Alright. I’ll admit it.

“Gyah!”

“Jade?!” Natalia looked at me like I’d grown a second head, while I tried to calm my racing heart.

*Don’t do that!*

*Sorry?*

*You’re obviously not.*

*You’re right, I’m not. Now then. Turn around, second branch on your right.*

“Excuse me?!”

“Colonel? Is Kairi talking to you?” Anise asked. I huffed and stood.

“Yes. Wait. Why...?”

*I don’t know them as well. I can contact Twilight, but I need someone with opposable thumbs.*

*Hence, scaring the daylights out of me.*

*Get moving, dammit! We don’t have a lot of time!*

That particular tone of voice was all I needed to get moving, not just walking, but running back up the tunnel.

“Hey, wait for us!”

*Tell them to turn around and head down the access tunnel.*

“Go back, head for the access tunnel,” I called over my shoulder. A moment later, and after more than one confused protest, the footsteps following me stopped. I noted a side branch on my right, but ran past it. She’d said the second one, right?

*Yeah, it’s just up ahead, and be careful, it’s half-hidden.*

I frowned and slowed down a bit, and it’s a good thing I did, or I’d have run right past it. I looked at it for a moment before running down it, careful not to trip in the dark, as there weren’t any lights down this way. In fact, I had to slow to a walk after a dozen or so yards, simply because I couldn’t see anything.

“Kairi?” I called quietly.

*Bound and gagged. You’re still too far away for me to hear more than a faint echo, anyway,* she responded. I cursed and kept moving for another few minutes before tripping and hitting the ground, hard. *Jade?!*

*I can’t see a damn thing!*

*Zion busted all the lights on his way out... And you don’t have enough spirit Energies to walk on two planes at once. Dammit...*

I forced myself back on my feet, holding my right shoulder carefully, even though I was fairly certain I’d sliced open my left leg as well. It certainly felt like it as I walked. Slowly and carefully, even though I was starting to think it was a lost cause.

*Stop!*

I froze, then frowned. *Your voice sounds... almost like it’s echoing, a bit. Or like I’m hearing you through water.*

*I’m pushing it as it is... Two o’clock.*

I blinked a few times, but turned the requested degree.

*Now you can keep walking. The tunnel turned a bit there, I didn’t want you to run into the wall.*

“You can see?”

*I’m on the second plane. You’re close enough now for me to guide you like this. Ouch... Your leg doesn’t look pretty, by the way. I’m going to start healing that while you’re untying me. Stop, step to the left.* I stopped again, adjusted my course as ordered and continued.

“What happened?”

*Van and Zion were hiding in the sephiroth. Van had Zion tie me and Sync up. Sync’s been left at the end of the access tunnel, and Zion brought me here to be picked up later. Van was trying to talk Asch into joining him... again... and Luke caught up about then, which is when Van gave in and knocked Asch out. He’s currently telling Luke how Asch was planning to destroy Akzeriuth. Another step to the left.*

I took the step and frowned as I thought it all over. Then I realized something. “Your voice sounds clear again.”

*And... stop. Drop. Untie me. I’m starting in on your leg.*

I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as I did so, even if my shoulder was giving me hell.

A faint tickling sensation in my leg told me that Kairi was definitely starting to work there. In fact, not a moment later, the air around my leg started glowing a soft blue, lighting up the area. I glanced down and flinched a bit at the messy sight. In fact...

I averted my eyes, not really caring much for the sight of my own tibia. The glow did serve multiple positive uses, though, one being that I could _see_ the knots I was supposed to be untying.

The glow suddenly shifted to green, and I frowned, looking back down at my leg and watching with a morbid fascination as my muscle tissue started stitching itself back together again.

I hissed a bit and went back to the knot. This part was actually a bit painful...

The glow slowly faded, and I stayed motionless for a moment as Kairi started moving around. Ripping fabric caught my attention, and I frowned.

“Get off your leg... I can’t heal it fully without doing more damage than necessary,” Kairi said. Glad to hear her voice outside my head again, I shifted so she could wrap up the wound I couldn’t see. “Blue Energies are water, green are earth. Cleansing, binding.”

I blinked a few times before realizing that she’d seen the baffled expression on my face when the glow had changed from blue to green.

“Hand out.” I stuck my left hand out, assuming she was planning to haul me to my feet. “Other hand.”

I made a face and reluctantly held up my right hand, and she moved my arm gently before getting a solid grip and pulling, popping the dislocated joint back into place. Another glow, this one a blue-green, lit up around my shoulder, and the pain faded completely.

I frowned when I saw a cut across Kairi’s cheek, but then the glow was gone again. “We need to get moving, now. Guy, Dark, Tear, and Ion are already halfway to the sephiroth. They’re looking for us,” she told me.

Then the ground started shaking, and Kairi cursed, pulling me to my feet and running back down the tunnel, not once letting go of my arm.

“What’s going on?!”

“Luke destroyed the passage ring.”

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Ah, cliffhangers. I love cliffhangers. Unless they leave you hanging for_ months _. In which case, I’ll hop in the boat with everyone who hates them. (Don’t worry. I love cliffhangers, but I won’t leave you hanging that long.)_


	35. Chapter 3.7 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3/21

_I was in too much pain to giggle at the sound Asch had made that was not ‘Aha! I found you!’ but was ‘Aha, we’re being rained on... by pebbles.’ –Kairi_

_Yes, logic be damned. –Kairi_

* * *

 

Pain. Fire, and needles, and ice, and pain.

Also, pointy rock poking my back, about where my kidney is, I think.

In other words: more pain!

“Jade?”

“The field created by Tear’s hymn broke in two just before we hit the ground. The others should be on the other side of that ridge,” I heard Jade reply. But who had spoken first? Was it Luke or Asch? I couldn’t tell. “Is he...?”

“He’s alright. Broken arm, obviously, broken leg, two broken ribs, but he’ll live... maybe... if he doesn’t kill himself from the boredom first. Or maybe not, his leg should heal in about a week, it’s just a thin fracture. His arm will take a little longer, seeing as how, you know, the bone is sticking out of his skin... Ugh, I hate seeing those. One of his ribs is a little displaced, but it didn’t puncture anything, and the other is like his leg, just barely fractured.”

Ah. Asch then. Luke doesn’t know any healing artes, and especially not one that can give him that kind of a diagnosis.

“Did you see who else fell with us?” Asch asked. Jade took a deep breath.

“Guy and... Kairi. Those two were the only other ones that fell on this side of the ridge.”

I heard Asch sucking in a deep breath.

“Don’t tell me she fell into the mud...”

“I didn’t see. I lost consciousness when we hit the ground, too, after all.”

I took a moment to frown. Why did it sound like they were below me?

I shifted a bit, trying to get the pointy rock to stop digging into my back, and succeeded in displacing a number of small rocks.

“Aha!”

I was in too much pain to giggle at the sound Asch had made that was not ‘Aha! I found you!’ but was ‘Aha, we’re being rained on... by pebbles.’

“Kairi?” It was a tentative question, voiced by Jade.

I grunted.

“Well... At least she didn’t fall into the mud. Did you have to drop the rocks on us, though?” Asch grumbled.

I wriggled a little more, still trying to get the pointy rock out from under me.

“Hey, Dark’s got four broken bones, genius. I don’t think he’d appreciate the rock rain either.”

I let out a whine when I realized that not only was the rock under my kidney still there, I now had another one digging into my left shoulder.

“Kairi?!”

I took a few deep breaths before reaching down with my mind.

*Rocks. Sharp, pointy rocks. And pain. Lots of pain.*

I felt Asch cringing. *Morphine, time?* And then another cringe when he realized Jade could hear, too.

My brother didn’t seem that surprised, though, which honestly worried me a bit.

*Um... Something like thirty hours before Luke let off his hyperresonance. I think.*

*That explains a lot.*

*I’ll handle the usual pain. But can someone please get me off of these damn rocks?!*

It was quiet for a minute before Asch laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile a bit, because it was so damn funny. There I was, with all of the fire and needles pain that comes with the miasma in my body, and I’m complaining about the rocks poking me.

Yes, logic be damned.

I heard a scuffling sound, and then a grunt, and a sigh.

“Where’s the bottle?” Asch asked.

*Bag.*

“Throat or chest hurting more than usual?”

*I don’t trust myself not to scream.*

“Ouch...”

I felt something shifting against my side, and I carefully blinked my eyes open.

I was on a ledge, Asch carefully bent over my torso as he rooted around in my bag for the mini-wing-pack thing that held the morphine, alcohol, sterile swabs, and syringes. I frowned a bit when he pulled it out and got to work.

*You’re going to have to toss me over the edge, aren’t you?*

Asch flinched. “I was actually planning on seeing what I could do about the rocks and just leaving you up here while I go check Guy. Unless you want to make Jade try to catch you. Good work with his leg, by the way. If you hadn’t flushed the wound as thoroughly as you did, it would’ve gotten infected.”

By this point, he’d already prepped everything, and I closed my eyes again as he stuck the needle in my arm. Not where it usually goes in, but oh well. No choice at the moment. It’s the only spot he can reach without risking his balance.

I poked at the spot with Energies the moment the needle came out, while Asch put everything away. I opened my eyes again just in time for him to carefully lift my shoulders up.

*Left shoulder, kidney.*

One arm kept my shoulders suspended while the other shifted a rock. I arched my back as best I could when I felt fingers brush up against it, and the second rock was moved.

It was much, much more comfortable laying there without those two rocks poking me in the back, and the morphine was already doing its job.

Asch slipped back down from the ledge and wandered off while I closed my eyes and listened. A muttered fonic verse and a few tense moments later, and he sighed in relief.

“He’s fine. Should be coming around any minute now, actually.”

Jade’s sigh was an echo of the relief Asch had expressed earlier. “Kairi?”

*Yes?*

“Can you spread a telepathic field? See if you can’t contact Sync, at least. See if they’re all okay.”

I took a deep breath and let the small field spread out, mostly focusing on the area to my relative left, since that’s where the ridge Jade mentioned earlier was.

Since I was putting more force into it than the usual field, I felt it when I stumbled across the first unconscious mind. Then another, and a third... Aha!

Tear was awake, and just close enough for me to open a connection. It looked like no one else was conscious yet on that side.

I poked at Tear’s mind before opening a channel. *Hey...*

*Kairi?! Oh, thank goodness! Dark, Luke, Asch, Guy, Jade, are they with you?*

I frowned. *Everyone but Luke, yes. Jade’s got a gash on his leg from before the fall, but that’s it. Asch is fine. I’m fine, if in a lot of pain because I went too long without my pain meds. Guy’s fine too. Dark has a broken leg and rib that will take about a week to heal, because the breaks are so small, another rib that’s broken but not displaced or anything, and... It sounds like his arm’s in really bad shape. Asch said something about a bone sticking out... Dark has my pity. You guys?*

Tear sighed, mostly in relief, and party in worry. *Sync’s alright, aside from the injuries he took before the fall... Ion, Anise, Natalia, and I are fine. Mieu is worried about Luke, but otherwise is unharmed, Sorylle has a broken hind leg, Twilight has a broken front leg, and Valkyria...* Tear trailed off. *I’m sorry, Kairi. Valkyria jumped under Sync’s body when the field broke. It’s a good thing she did, he’d have likely suffered from a fatal concussion if she hadn’t, but...*

I took a deep breath. *I see... Thank you, Tear.*

*Where are Reighn and Luke, though?*

I frowned. *Reighn took over up top with the evacuation... If we’re lucky, he went with one of the groups and got out in time. If not...* I trailed off, then bit my lip and refused to continue down that trail of thought. *Wait...*

I drew the connection as thin as I could for a few minutes so I could think without Tear hearing.

Hadn’t Van taken Asch away by griffin in the game? And Luke... Oh no.

*Van took Luke.*

*What?!*

*I’ll explain when we find you guys. Just see about getting everyone awake,* I said quickly before cutting the connection.

My eyes snapped open. “Move Dark.”

Asch let out a surprised grunt, but sighed and, from the sound of the shifting rocks, did it anyway. “Clear.”

I wiggled my fingers and toes, then threw one leg over the ledge and let my body roll off.

A good thing it wasn’t all that high up, because I stumbled upon landing.

Asch gave me a look. “Tear’s awake. She, Sync, Anise, Ion, Natalia and Mieu are alright... We’re praying Reighn left with one of the refugee groups. Twilight and Sorylle have a broken leg each. Valkyria’s dead for saving Sync from said fate. And Van took off with Luke,” I reported, standing up carefully and noting with a morbid fascination how the world was tilting all over the place.

“What?!”

Asch, Jade, and I looked over at the blonde who had spoken. I frowned. “I’ll explain once we join up with the others.”

“And just how are we going to do that? We try to go up this ridge, we risk Dark getting injured worse,” Asch argued. I frowned and looked around, then blinked and started walking off away from them. “Kairi?”

I hopped from one section of earth to another and then stepped around what looked like part of a building. Then I chuckled. “Why don’t we take the Tartarus around? Four people can operate her, if needed.”

“Barely,” Jade muttered, stepping up behind me and crossing his arms at the sight of the landship that was sitting on the mud. He stood there, staring at it like it was the strangest thing he’d ever seen for a number of minutes before he sighed and started walking over to it, hands back in his pockets.

“How the hell did that survive the fall?” Asch asked, more shock in his voice than I’d ever heard before. I just chuckled.

*Oh, I didn’t tell you? That’s how they got from fallen Akzeriuth to Yulia City in the game.*

Asch reached over and smacked me before turning and heading back to pick up Dark. Guy gave the two of us an odd look, but shook his head and decided that helping Jade would be a better idea than asking questions.

“Urk...”

I blinked and turned before running over to where Asch was leaning over Dark. His left arm was wrapped up tight, as was his right leg.

“Whoa, careful there. You’ve got a lot of broken bones from that fall.”

Bleary, mismatched eyes looked up at us, and then shot open as Dark once again tried to sit up. “Natalia?!”

“She’s fine,” I said quickly. “Sorylle’s got a broken hind leg, but she’s fine too.”

“Luke?”

“We’ll explain that once we’ve picked up the other group.”

Dark frowned, and Asch sighed, carefully picking him up. “We should go. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to. You’re already in bad enough shape,” he said looking up at me. Dark looked like he was about to argue about being picked up, but seemed to note the way his leg was wrapped up.

I headed back over to the Tartarus, noting that the ramp was down, now, and turned to wait a moment for Asch and Dark, then continued on ahead, making my way to the bridge. Jade was already there, and Guy returned from checking the engine about the same time Asch and Dark arrived.

“It looks like everything will still run. I’d like to get it checked out in a port, but...”

“At this moment, we don’t have that luxury,” Jade said. He turned to where Dark was sitting in one of the control seats. “Guy, why don’t you sit next to Dark and talk him through the controls? The more people operating the Tartarus, the better.”

The blonde nodded, then frowned and looked at me and Asch. “Wait, do they know how to...?” he trailed off. Jade sighed.

“Kairi’s been on the Tartarus multiple times before, and she has a habit of hovering around up here,” he admitted. I grinned.

“Also, if I have any questions, Asch will probably have the answer. Do please remember I travel with a couple former God-Generals.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “And I’m going to admit to hoping you can say ‘three’ when we get back above.”

Asch blinked. “What? ...Cantabile?”

Jade shrugged. “No, though that would make a nice, even four. No, the Head of the Fon Master Guards is, technically, a God-General, so the phrase ‘former God-General’ applies to Reighn as well.”

I nodded, then looked around, grinned, and hopped over to a seat on the right. Asch watched me go with a sigh, shook his head, and took the front most seat... which put a seat between us, unfortunately. But that’s beside the point.

Once Jade got us moving, albeit slowly, things became a bit easier. Of course, stopping the Tartarus again was another story, thank goodness Jade really knew what he was doing. Once we were safely ‘docked,’ I hopped up and headed out, Asch on my heels. I thought I heard Guy make some comment about checking the rest of the mechanics, but I was already heading for the hatch, so I didn’t really care.

“Hey, where’d Zion take you, anyway?”

I frowned. “Up to one of the side tunnels, which he dumped me in for a griffin to pick up. I’m glad Jade found me when he did. That’s how he got the gash in his leg. Couldn’t see a thing ‘cause Zion busted all the lights on his way out.” The ramp was lowered, and Asch and I headed down. The group wasn’t quite in sight yet.

“I’m surprised he didn’t kill Sync.”

“Orders from Van, because Arietta wants to use Sync to open up the Daathic Seals instead of Ion.”

“Never thought I’d be grateful to the brat.”

“Which brat?” Anise asked as we rounded another turn. I looked around. Tear, over by a pool of mud. Sync, sitting in front of Natalia, who was doing a final check on his injuries. Anise, of course, standing next to Ion, who was knelt next to Sync. Twilight, who was keeping his front left paw off the ground. Sorylle, lounged across his back.

Mieu, running over to Asch and letting his ears droop when he realized it wasn’t Luke.

“Mieuuuu... Master really isn’t with you, is he?”

I sighed and crouched, patting Mieu on the head. “No. But at least we know he’s alive. The same can’t be said of Reighn.”

Sync stood up carefully and walked over to me. “We underestimated Van,” he said. I frowned and nodded, while Asch sighed.

“He’s been after my hyperresonance since I was a kid. I never thought he’d resort to using Luke’s, not with the way he was acting about it,” Asch added. I crossed my arms.

“And the passage ring is gone... With Sync now officially adopted by Cantabile, we’ve only got so much time left,” I continued.

Then the dizzy spell hit, and everything went black again.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _I hadn’t originally intended to kill off Valkyria. Not in the first version. However, with the addition of Twilight to the party, it made little sense for Kairi to have a monster_ and _a cat. So yes. Valkyria died. At least this time, she died for a reason, instead of just not surviving the landing._


	36. Chapter 3.8 - Akzeriuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/21

_“Did she fall asleep sitting like that?” –Asch_

_“I went ahead and did something probably very stupid.” –Sync_

* * *

 

I woke up slowly, and blinked a few times as I looked around. It looked like... Tear’s room. But, I thought we were in Fallen Akzeriuth?

“Oh, you’re awake.”

I sat up carefully, noting how numb my body felt, how sluggish I was moving.

“Careful! Asch was keeping you sedated until we got here. The morphine’s just now wearing off... though where he got _morphine_ is beyond me,” Tear said, running over to me to help me up.

I huffed. Leave it to Asch to keep me knocked out simply for fainting.

“Um... Would you like something to eat? The others are all wandering Yulia City right now while the Tartarus is being repaired,” Tear said. I looked up at her, confused.

“Repaired?”

The melodist smiled slightly, apparently happy that I was speaking. “There was some damage from the fall into the Qliphoth, and they’re trying to see if they can’t get the mud out of the machinery as well. They’re also attaching a device so they can use the sephiroth to get the Tartarus back up to the Outer Lands,” she explained. I frowned.

“I see... How long have I been out?”

Tear fidgeted a little. “Almost two weeks... It took us eleven days to get here from Akzeriuth. Asch barely left your side the whole time. He kept going on about the miasma...”

I sighed and let myself fall back. “You mentioned food earlier?”

Tear nodded. “Yes... I’ve got some ingredients... Actually, I asked Guy, Natalia, and Dark to go buy more, since it looks like we’ll all be here for a few more days. Still, I have some broth, I should be able to make some soup. You probably shouldn’t eat too much, anyway.”

I frowned. “Ramen?”

Tear giggled. “I can try... Asch copied all of your recipes down for me when I asked.”

I smiled and let my eyes close. “I’ll be down in a little bit. I need to finish flushing the excess morphine from my system.”

“Excess?”

I shook my head. “I’ll explain later.”

I slipped onto the second plane then, and watched as Tear shrugged and headed downstairs before I turned around and started poking around my own body. I’d been on the morphine for a while now, so I knew what I was looking for and was able to start breaking it down.

By the time I was done, I was able to move about freely, and I headed downstairs, noting that Tear’s room was one of five in a hallway, with my wing pack in one hand. “Um, Tear? Where’s the bathroom?”

Tear flushed pink and pointed me in the right direction, and I thanked her before stepping in.

Between ditching the God-Generals, racing to Akzeriuth, and everything else, I was filthy. Not exactly a new occurrence, but an irritating one nonetheless. So it probably shouldn’t have surprised Tear when I stepped out of the bathroom wearing plain, tight black pants (with my knee brace, because it was hurting again and I didn’t want to fight with Energies right now) and a strapless green top.

But she looked at me like I’d grown a second head anyway, while I debated on what to do with my wet hair.

“Oh... I suppose you haven’t gotten to take a shower in a while... I hadn’t even realized. I’m sorry,” she said, putting a bowl in front of me. I smiled and simply tossed my hair back over my shoulder.

“Yeah... I’m going to have to trim my bangs again, but I’ll do that after I eat. I’m starving!” Tear laughed along with me as I started slurping up noodles. Her ramen wasn’t as good as mine, but it was ramen, and food, and I was hungry. I didn’t really care.

Jade was the first one to walk in on us, sometime after I’d finished the first bowl, trimmed my bangs (Tear had trimmed the rest of my hair for me), and started on the second.

“It’s good to see you up and about again,” my brother said, stepping over to the table and sitting down. There were only four chairs around the small table, so I was starting to wonder who’d occupy the last one.

“Her appetite’s intact, at least,” Tear said, amused as I ignored Jade in favor of ramen. He sighed and shrugged, then frowned.

“You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep that up,” he said, noting the way I was devouring the noodles. I shook my head and swallowed my most recent mouthful.

“What happens when a fonist spends hours casting artes almost constantly through use of Orange and Pineapple Gels?” I asked.

Jade adjusted his glasses. “Their body redistributes energy away from replenishing their magicks. Why?”

I swallowed the large bite I’d taken while he was explaining. “Energies act similarly. I’ve already used them since waking up to flush the excess morphine out of my body, but since Asch has had me practically comatose for two weeks without an IV line, I’ve got to eat to keep my body from tearing itself apart for the energy.”

Jade blinked a few times, then sighed. “You’re still going to make yourself sick.”

“Nope. I’m actually quite used to doing things like this. So long as I take a break of about fifteen minutes between each bowl, I’m fine.”

As if to prove my point, I picked the bowl up and downed the broth, along with the rest of the noodles that had escaped me. Putting it down and standing, I took a moment to think. “There was a garden outside the room upstairs, wasn’t there?” I asked, as if I really needed the confirmation.

Tear nodded. “Yes. Are you going to want more?”

I sighed. “I’ll answer that in a little while. For now I just need to relax a little. Much as I hate doing that.” I stepped around Jade’s chair and headed up the stairs, bare feet barely making a sound on the floor. I paused in the hallway, wondering what the other four rooms were, but not wanting to intrude.

I knelt in the garden and closed my eyes, intending on simply meditating. I hadn’t had a chance to do so for so long...

“Kairi?”

I inhaled as deeply as I could before breathing it out and looking up at my brother. “Yes?”

“There’s a large amount of miasma in your body, isn’t there?” Jade asked, sitting next to me quietly. I noted absently that he was now barefoot, and he’d left his coat and gloves elsewhere too. I faced forward, letting my eyes close again, and simply focused on my breathing for a few moments.

“Yes.”

Jade was silent, and I realized after a moment that he was trying make his uneven breathing match my slow, steady breaths.

“Do you know how long you have until...” Jade stopped and took a shaky breath, then simply focused on that for a while. I didn’t respond for a time.

Quite a time, it seemed.

“Did she fall asleep sitting like that?”

I couldn’t help it, I started laughing. Jade started laughing too, as the absurdity of the whole thing sank in. Of course, our laughter quieted after a few moments as Asch sat in front of us, making something of a triangle.

“You said you wanted to talk to us, Jade?” he asked. Jade glanced down at me, then looked at Asch.

“I take it you two found out about the miasma while with the God-Generals.”

Asch blinked a few times, then looked at me.

*He just knows there’s miasma. He doesn’t know how much, or the source,* I told him. Asch sighed and let his head droop.

“Kairi was getting her arm checked after the battle on the ferry. I was practicing the scanning arte, and the medic looking her over wanted me to confirm something he’d found...” Asch started. He shook his head, unable to look up at either of us, and I sighed, while Jade frowned.

“Asch feels guilty because he’s the one who told me about the miasma. Idiot.”

Jade sighed, then took a deep breath. “What about what I mentioned earlier?” he asked.

I frowned. “No idea.”

Asch looked back and forth between us, but I just closed my eyes again and went back to focusing on my breathing. Then my stomach started growling... loudly...

I opened my eyes to find Jade and Asch both staring at me, though Jade seemed a bit more shocked than Asch. I ducked my head. “What?”

“You just ate two bowls of ramen half an hour ago!” Jade said.

I shrugged. “Yeah? I told you, I have to eat a lot after things like that happen.”

Jade let his head fall for a moment before standing and heading back inside. “I’ll tell Tear you’ll be eating with the rest of us after all.”

I smiled and watched him go, then moved so I wasn’t sitting on my knees anymore. My legs were starting to hurt... my right knee, especially. Of course, as soon as Jade was gone, Sync walked in and sat cross-legged in the space my brother had just vacated.

“Now that everything’s calmed down a bit... Guard my body for me?” Sync said. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, Asch echoing me. Sync looked a bit sheepish.

“I found another spirit Energy back at Choral Castle. And, remember what you said about Talents?” he started. I nodded, and he closed his eyes, almost immediately slumping to the ground. My eyes widened, because standing a little ways off from the rest of us, insubstantial and glowing ever-so-slightly green, was Sync. I blinked a few times, before realizing what was going on.

“Astral projection?”

*Uh... I guess?*

Asch and I stared at him for a few moments. His mouth had moved like he was talking, but his voice had been in our heads. I frowned. “How far away can you go?” I asked. Sync shrugged.

*I tested it a couple of times while we were trying to get here. As long as I can picture a place I’ve been, I can appear there. It’s tiring to go far away for long periods of time, though,* he said. I nodded.

“Like it’s tiring for me to use my telepathy long-distance for a length.”

*Yeah. I’m heading up to St. Binah. I don’t know the area around Kaitzur well enough to try to go there, but... I figure, if I’m going to hear _anything_ about survivors of Akzeriuth, it’ll be there,* he said. I smiled.

“You’re going to see if Reighn made it out.”

Sync nodded, then disappeared in a green flash. I smiled at the afterimage left behind before turning back to Asch. “So... Hungry?”

Asch sighed and ended up flopping out on his back with a small smile. It faded eventually, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking about, though I forced myself not to ask and simply closed my eyes again, going back to meditating.

Sometime later, I heard footsteps approaching again. I didn’t move, though. I was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how to replicate what Ion did in the game without killing myself.

“Teodoro says we’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow afternoon, if we’re ready.” I frowned a bit. Jade didn’t sound too pleased about that.

“Are we going to leave as soon as possible, or...?” Asch trailed off.

“I don’t particularly care, though I worry about the state of things on the surface as things stand right now. With both Luke and Natalia missing and Akzeriuth destroyed, Kimlasca and Malkuth are probably just a few wrong words away from war.”

“They’re already making preparations in St. Binah,” Sync said. “Ow...”

I opened my eyes and looked over at him. “Any word?” I asked. Sync sighed and shook his head.

“No, but I... I went ahead and did something probably very stupid. I asked Selenia to send me word if anything happened,” he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. I crossed my arms.

“So Selenia knows you can astral project yourself.”

Sync nodded. “Yeah... Though, the first few groups of refugees from Akzeriuth have made it to St. Binah. If Reighn made it out with one of the later groups, it may be a few more days before he reaches the city.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “You’re being awfully optimistic about his survival.”

I snorted. “This, from the pessimist who actually thought Asch had killed a miner in tunnel fourteen.”

Asch made a face. “Why would you...?” he started, looking at Jade like he’d grown a second head. My brother sighed and shrugged.

“CoD was a blade to the throat, and it was too wide a wound to be a knife. As far as I was aware, you, Sync, and possibly Kairi were the only ones in that tunnel. I hadn’t been told Van was hiding in tunnel fourteen.” He gave me a pointed look along with the last sentence.

I sighed and shook my head. “And what would telling you have done? Van and Zion thrashed me, Asch, and Sync in less than two minutes, and you don’t even know our signals.”

“Didn’t,” Sync corrected me, subtly telling me that they’d started explaining our system while I was out.

I rolled my eyes. “Even if we’d taken Reighn and Twilight, both of whom know the signals... That reminds me, I have another two to teach everyone... We still would have lost. Van wasn’t going to be talked down. The only thing we could do was evacuate as many as possible and then deal with him... And Luke screwed that one over when he walked down there and destroyed the passage ring.”

Asch crossed his arms. “We did what we could. No use grumbling about it now. It’s over and done with,” he said. Jade sighed.

“Speaking of done... Dinner, anyone? Ion and Anise have already eaten, though Natalia and Dark seem to have gotten lost somewhere in Yulia City. Guy and Tear literally just left to find them.”

I smirked and stood, wincing a bit as I moved my knee, since it didn’t seem to be pleased with me for the sudden movement. “Alright.”

Sync stood as well. “When are we going to leave, though?”

Jade sighed. “If we don’t go off-course this time, the trip from here to where Akzeriuth used to be should only take eight days, or maybe seven if all of us work in shifts,” he said. Asch looked over at me as he stood, then up at Jade.

“Let’s leave early the morning after tomorrow. I... I want to check up on some things, and...” he trailed off, eyes drifting over to me again. Jade nodded once, while I sighed.

“I’m alright, Asch. You didn’t have to keep me knocked out the whole way here.”

Asch let his head drop. “Sorry.”

Sync looked back and forth between us. “Food, maybe?”

We nodded.

* * *

 

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _It took a lot of prompting for them to go get food. Apparently I was in one of my ‘I’m hungry but I’m not’ moods when I wrote this... (And yes, food in this story in mostly based on what I’m hungry for when I write about it. Or if I’m eating.)_


	37. Chapter 4.1 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5/21

_“Might as well... See if those damn crabs are still there...”  –Kairi_

_“The mayor wanted your help with something related to whatever it was you did down in engineering six and a half months ago.”  –Asch_

* * *

I took a deep breath, stood and walked downstairs.

My hair was down, and I was wearing the red tank top and black slacks I’d gotten while undercover as Major Mirage. Simple, and comfortable.

Asch, Sync, Dark, Guy, Jade, and Tear were standing around in the kitchen. Natalia and Anise were still asleep in the room they were sharing. Ion had been awake early in the morning (here meaning ‘four-thirty’), and had walked out into the garden where Twilight and I were relaxing. I’d ended up singing the two of them to sleep again around five, before leaving to shower again and get dressed.

Sorylle was sitting next to Dark’s legs, while Mieu stood on the table. I moved to the side and sat on the steps.

“So?”

Asch turned to me. “We’re waiting on Ion, Anise, and Natalia to get down here.”

“And Twilight,” Dark muttered. I noted absently that he had his eyes closed. Must still be tired.

I sighed. “Ion and Twilight are in the garden. Ion was up really early this morning having trouble sleeping.”

“It bothers me that you know that,” Tear commented. I shrugged.

“I’m usually up around four or five. Closer to four this morning.”

“You keep a ridiculous sleeping schedule,” Anise told me as she stepped past, not wearing her tabard, and still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. I just smiled and leaned my back against the wall, relaxing and slipping out of my body to continue poking at the miasma.

“Oh... Are we the last ones down?”

I looked up and noted Natalia, Ion, and Twilight standing on the steps above me. Ion blinked as he looked at me. “Did she fall asleep?”

I slipped back into my body, only slightly irritated by the interruption, and smiled up at him. “Nope. Just meditating.” I stood to let them pass, and Asch crossed his arms.

“Now that we’re all down here... We didn’t get a chance to tell everyone last night, so I’m just going to get it out of the way now. We’re leaving tomorrow morning on the Tartarus. Aside from Kairi and Tear, is anyone staying in Yulia City?”

“Excuse me?!”

All eyes turned to me, and Asch scowled. “The barrier around Yulia City is keeping the miasma out. You and I are going to have a long talk as soon as we’re done here, but you are not coming with us on the Tartarus. We don’t need you getting any worse,” he said, a sort of finality in his voice that I’d... honestly never heard. I let that float around in my head for a little bit before I sighed.

Asch was right. I still hadn’t found a way to get the miasma out of my system. Until then, I really shouldn’t be taking more in. The Yulia Road is it then, I suppose...

“Fine... Next?” I grumbled.

Asch sighed, apparently relieved that I wasn’t arguing with him right now. He turned back to the rest of the group. “Anyone else staying?”

Dark glanced down at Sorylle, then at Twilight. “It’ll be at least two weeks before you can get to Daath. Sorylle and I will stay here with Kairi until then... That’s enough time for Sorylle to heal, and my rib should be good to go by then as well,” he said. Twilight growled. “Twilight’s staying too.”

Jade frowned as he looked around at everyone. No one else looked like they were planning on staying. “That gives us six fighters, plus Ion. And it takes four people to maneuver the Tartarus. It will probably take us closer to three weeks to reach Daath.”

“And that’s if we don’t make any stops elsewhere,” Sync added. Jade nodded, and I crossed my arms, glancing at Asch.

“Belkend wouldn’t add too much time to that, a week at most. Do you mind making a stop there for me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, we can drop by Belkend. Medicine?” he guessed. I nodded.

“Yes, and something else, if you could. I’ll tell you later.”

Jade looked back and forth between the two of us before shaking his head, apparently deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble to ask us to make sense. “Then it’s settled? Kairi, Dark, Tear, and the monsters will stay here for now. We’ll leave tomorrow morning, go up to the Outer Lands via Akzeriuth, and stop in Belkend before going to Daath?”

The others nodded, and Asch turned to me. “Meet me just outside as soon as you’ve got shoes.”

I nodded and headed back upstairs, grabbing my boots and pulling them on before heading back down. The kitchen was now mostly empty. I took a moment to pause and think. It would be early Ifrit-Decan by the time the others picked me up in Daath, so... I definitely had time to train. And figure out the miasma.

I stepped outside Tear’s house and looked around the residential section of Yulia City. I smiled a bit, remembering running around the... er... not-so-residential parts of the city once.

“The mayor wanted your help with something related to whatever it was you did down in engineering six and a half months ago.”

I chuckled a bit at that. “Aw... are they having tech problems...?”

Asch groaned. “Come on. We need to talk in private anyway,” he grumbled, grabbing my arm and pulling me along behind him. I just kept laughing.

See, I’d expressed an interest in seeing Yulia City about a month after Asch, Sync and I finished up with the sephiroth locks. So the three of us—with some reluctance—had come to Yulia City in mid-Sylph-Redecan. Sync had gotten separated and then lost at one point, and Asch and I had split up to find him. Asch figured that because I could keep track of him telepathically, I’d be okay on my own.

He was intelligent enough to _not_ do that again in the future. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, I’d gotten rather a bit lost, and ended up in the underbelly of Yulia City. Where I found lots and lots of interesting machinery... Machinery that, after turning on more than a few computers and then switching everything over to the fonic language, rather than Ancient Ispanian, I’d gone and started activating.

“Kairi...”

I grinned. “Yes?” Asch had been trying to get my attention for a few minutes now.

Asch sighed. “Your lung is getting worse.”

I blinked a few times, then realized what he was talking about. “That’s what you didn’t want the others to know?”

Asch stuck his hands in his pockets (when had he changed out of the uniform?) and looked anywhere but me. “Your liver and kidney haven’t progressed much. I’m assuming it’s due to the sudden seventh fonon influx that those keep getting damaged. That heart murmur is going to start causing problems if you’re not careful. The more stress you put on it, the worse it gets. Your fonslots seem to be opened properly now... Though you still need to tell me how that’s possible. Um...” he trailed off, looking up at the ‘sky’ and sighing.

I crossed my arms. “What?”

Asch closed his eyes a moment. “Sync told me you’d been planning on changing the locks on the sephiroth.” I nodded, since he was now looking at me again. He swallowed. “Don’t... please? The miasma’s already destroying your body bit by bit... Unless you can find a way to fix it, don’t take any more in than you need to.”

I sighed and nodded. “Alright. Now then... Teodoro?”

Asch rolled his eyes. “Yes... What did you do, anyway?”

I just smirked and kept quiet. He’d find out soon enough anyway.

We arrived at the central building of Yulia City, and Asch led me up to the conference room, where you can usually find Teodoro. And, as predicted, the old man was there waiting for us. Teodoro blinked a few times when he saw me.

“She’s the one who was down in the mechanics district? Here I was thinking it was that other boy,” he said in surprise. Asch chuckled.

“Nope. Sync’s the one that got lost... Well, technically, she did too, but...”

I shrugged. “Not really. I just worried he might have gone down there and then got distracted.”

Teodoro chuckled. “’Distracted’ indeed. Do you have any idea what you did for us?” he asked. I crossed my arms.

“If I’m right, those three generators should have lit up most of the residential district. With all of the fonic lanterns around, though, I couldn’t really tell. Still, I figured there was no harm leaving them on. If nothing else, the excess power generated would have been stored away in an emergency reservoir.”

Asch stared at me like I’d grown a second head, while Teodoro smiled.

“We actually didn’t notice it until a few weeks after you all left. When Tear told me you three were part of the group from the Tartarus, I asked her to send Asch to me. He was actually my first guess as to the perpetrator, but to find it was you... Could you show us what you did? Perhaps we may learn more about the city, enough to light up all of it with the generators you found,” he said. I shrugged.

“Why not? I’m going to be down here for a few weeks yet, and while I had initially intended to spend that time training, it’s not like it’s a long way to Aramis Spring. The Yulia Road comes up there. Might as well... See if those damn crabs are still there...” I said, completely changing topic as I remembered the oddest thing that had happened to me before meeting Asch.

The redhead blinked a few times before cracking the smallest of smiles, and the two of us shared a look before laughing at the memory of the idiotic crabs.

Meanwhile, Tear’s grandfather was giving us the oddest look. We finally started to get our laughter under control when Guy walked in, eyes wide.

“Hey! Oh, hi Asch, Kairi,” he said quickly. He looked up at Teodoro. “I heard an engineer saying something about strange technology in the underbelly of the city, but when I went to check it out, I got told to stay out. Um... Do you mind if I look, please?!”

Asch and I cracked up laughing again, although at least this time Teodoro was in on the joke. Guy looked around at the three of us. “What’s so funny?”

I stood up and put my hands to my cheeks, as they were starting to hurt from laughing too hard. “I guess I should get started now, then. Guy won’t be here tomorrow,” I said. Guy tilted his head to the side.

“Huh?”

Asch chuckled. “Kairi’s the reason you can’t get down there now,” he explained. He smiled and looked at me. “I’m going to trust Guy to make sure you don’t over-exert yourself, while I go talk to Twilight and Dark.” Dark, only because he needed a translator. Asch left then, and Teodoro smiled.

“Well then, let’s be off.”

However, about four minutes into our walk, I had him stop. “Hang on, I just want to ask one question first. Did your guys find the western access terminal?” Teodoro stared at me like I was speaking gibberish. “A raised platform with a two-meter diameter hole in the middle.”

He blinked a few times before shaking his head, and I sighed. “Alright. This way.”

I turned and headed down a side street, taking a right turn the next chance I had, then a left turn after two ‘blocks’.

“This isn’t anywhere near the underbelly entrance,” Teodoro stated. I shook my head.

“Not the main entrance, no. There should be three other maintenance warps.”

“Warps?!”

I nodded and knelt, pulling up a panel out of the street and attaching a few cables to their ports. A warp pad lit up nearby. My best guess, given fonic technology? There was probably a ‘bare-minimum’ teleportation fonic glyph involved.

Once it was lit up and the panel was back in place, the three of us stepped onto it, and I took a moment to be very grateful that I’d spent hours just reading the information on the computers I’d found.

We appeared in a very dark space, and Guy chuckled nervously. “Ah... we can’t see a thing, other than the warp pad. And why is it so...”

I rolled my eyes. “Faint? It’s because it’s in a standby mode, for now.” I slipped halfway onto the second plane, stepped over to the wall, and flipped the switch there.

Blindingly bright light lit up around us, and Guy and Teodoro finally moved off of the warp pad, allowing it to light up again. “Well, that... actually makes sense. Kinda like how fonic glyphs won’t activate again for at least thirty seconds,” Guy noted.

I rolled my eyes and started walking, the lights along the edge of the catwalk lighting up as well. Guy and Teodoro followed behind me, Guy asking questions all the way.

“So, why are these lights just now turning on?”

“They’re activated as we walk, for the most part. Our weight triggers switches in the path, and those switches activate and deactivate the appropriate lights. In fact, look behind us,” I said, stopping to point. Sure enough, aside from the warp pad, the platform and part of the path was now dark.

I turned and started walking again.

“When were you down here, again?”

“Mid-Sylph-Redecan, not long after meeting you, actually.”

“How long were you down here?”

“Um... Hours? I know Sync disappeared on us just before noon, and it was dark when I finally made it back to the inn, but...” I trailed off with a shrug. “I spent maybe a half hour looking for Sync before finding the warp pad.”

“Wow... Is that the platform you were talking about?” Guy asked, pointing ahead of us to where the path branched out around a central area. I smiled and nodded, and once we’d reached it, I couldn’t help but smirk. Guy was bent over the ‘platform’ and was looking down the ‘hole’. “Whoa.. it’s completely dark.”

I shrugged, put a hand on one part, and swung my legs over, Guy crying out as I did so, probably thinking I was throwing myself down an infinite hole.

Imagine his surprise (and my amusement) when I landed maybe a foot below them. I grinned, reached down, and pressed a couple of buttons. Suddenly, the ‘deep dark hole’ wasn’t so deep or dark.

Lights lit up the bottom edge of the terminal, both inside and out, while holograms jumped up and surrounded me. I crossed my arms and grinned as I looked around at all of the—admittedly confusing—data. Guy’s eyes widened, while Teodoro looked on with awe and a bit of pride.

“Wow...”

I grinned and started poking things. “’Wow’ indeed, Guy. ‘Wow’ indeed. So, Teodoro... Why don’t you and Guy go find those engineers of yours?”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I’d originally intended for Sync to be the tech-savvy one in the group. Then Selenia jumped up and stole that title. Then Kairi reminded her just why that was a bad idea. (You’ll find out in Book 3.) And no one else volunteered, so Kairi ended up being the relative ‘expert’. Well, kinda fitting, given Earth’s technology levels, but still..._


	38. Chapter 4.2 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6/21

_“Daath and I have a very bad track record.” –Kairi_

* * *

 

 “Wow. She’s actually here instead of mucking around in the underbelly of the city or messing around in Aramis Spring.” Note the immense levels of dry sarcasm here, please.

I rolled my eyes, sitting down at the table. I’d been out most of the day already, but I was still back earlier than usual. “I’m bored. I’ve been bored for some time now, actually. Gods... I hate staying in one place for long amounts of time,” I grumbled. Twilight growled, a sympathetic noise, and head butted me in the back. He was probably getting a bit stir-crazy himself.

Tear crossed her arms. “Kairi, your shirt...”

I sighed. “Yeah... It’s civilian-quality, so that doesn’t surprise me, really. I figured it’d be destroyed by the time I was done here.”

Tear looked worried. “It may take some time to get good-quality material, though.”

I shook my head. “The black pants and green top I wore that first day? Well, afternoon? Those are battle-quality. Not the best, but they’ll last. Kinda sucks that my black coat can’t handle the stress anymore, though.”

Dark sighed. “I know that feeling,” he said as Tear stepped over to check his arm. Everything else was healed, and even that was now well on its way.

Tear looked thoughtful as she carefully checked the wound, used a small healing arte that wouldn’t cause too much stress on the bone, and then wrapped it back up. “You know, it’s been almost four weeks. I suppose you could head up to Daath and wait for them there.”

I shook my head. “No. Asch and Sync won’t go near Daath unless they absolutely have to. I try not to, either, since Daath and I have a very bad track record.”

Dark shrugged. “We should still head up and ask around. If nothing else, we might learn a bit about what’s been going on in the world.” I snorted. Probably not much, to be honest.

Regardless, the three of us decided we’d head up the next day, since Tear needed to report to Mohs... Which made me wonder.

In the game, Ion and Natalia get captured in Daath. What would happen this time? Would anything happen at all?

I was up early the next morning, fidgeting, wanting to get moving. Dark was the second one down, the two ligers following shortly after him. Then came Tear. I’d made breakfast for us, simply because I hadn’t had anything else to do while waiting for them. Then we finally got on our way.

“Tear!” I resisted the urge to scowl as we were stopped by an elderly woman who was attempting to catch up to us. Tear blinked a few times.

“Yes?”

The woman took a moment to catch her breath before holding out a folder. “Here. It’s from the books Van left behind. I thought it might be useful to you.”

Oh, that’s right. Tear gets Holy Song around this time.

Tear smiled. “Thank you.”

The three of us then managed to make it to the Yulia Road without anymore distractions. I grinned and raced out into the middle. “Let’s go!” I said cheerfully before being whisked away. Rather Anise-esque, if you ask me, but I didn’t really care. Dark, Tear, Sorylle, and Twilight followed behind me.

Sorylle was definitely getting larger. Whereas Twilight’s head came up to about the same height as mine, her ears were just reaching Dark’s hips, a little higher than that on me... When did he outgrow me, anyway? Whatever.

I turned and headed up to the caverns, not even bothering to really wait for Tear, who had taken a moment to look around. I suppose she hadn’t gotten the chance last time.

Twilight padded along next to me, while Dark hovered behind a bit, and I realized a bit belatedly that, of the three humans, I was the only short-range fighter. I frowned, thought for a moment, and then slipped my bow back around my torso. Since my arm was healed and I’d been fighting with Twilight, I’d finally gotten to use it again. However, with Dark and Tear providing support and Sorylle’s admittedly still inadequate attacks, I’d be serving the group better as a swordsman.

I spotted the first three crabs and scowled. “Be careful, you three. These guys can petrify us,” I warned before drawing out Silver Clematis.

Since I’d switched right to using my bow once my arm was fully healed, I hadn’t had a chance to use the poison-inflicting sword yet. But I knew I’d need to practice with it, since it was lighter than I was used to while still being longer.

“Silver Shot!” Dark grumbled, letting off something similar to Piercing Line. Similar, but not the same, as it shot through one crab and then hit it again from behind. I raised an eyebrow. That was a strike arte... I didn’t have any of those for my bow, yet. I’d have to ask Dark about it. Might be useful...

Speaking of useful.

“Raging Blast!”

Crab two went flying, and Twilight batted at it angrily before launching off a lightning attack. Sorylle attempted to do the same, but all that came out was a loud growl. The crabs chittered, and I got the impression they were laughing at the poor little liger.

Sorylle reared back and roared at it again, except this time, where her paws had struck the ground, a line of ice reared up, ramming into the crab that had ‘laughed’ and killing it. Dark paused a few moments to stare at her before turning and going back to shooting. Twilight, likewise, seemed shocked.

I slashed at crab three, and it stumbled backwards, looking at me reproachfully. I smirked. “Consider it revenge for whoever petrified me one of the first times I was here,” I mocked it, slashing at it until it finally died before looking around for crab one.

“Kairi!”

I jumped up, probably a good idea as a gray claw swiped through the area where I’d been standing. Unfortunately, this had me landing on the head of the crab I’d been looking for. I jumped away, not wanting to risk losing my balance riding on that thing, while Dark unloaded another round of fonic bullets into it.

Twilight was growling at Sorylle, and then the two of them reared back together, Sorylle hitting the ground first and unleashing another line of ice, while Twilight’s thunder attack struck true.

The crab looked around at us for a moment before succumbing to its wounds and hitting the ground. A moment later, it was gone. I let Silver Clematis return to my arm before looking over at Dark, who was knelt next to Sorylle.

“I didn’t know ligers could use ice attacks,” Tear said, also stepping over to them. Dark shrugged.

“Eh... thunder attacks are most common, but if there was any doubt that Sorylle was an eastern liger, it’s gone now. Southern ligers sometimes specialize in second fonon-based attacks or occasionally fifth, and westerners can often use the fifth fonon or rarely the second, but only the eastern clan uses fourth fonons,” Dark said before standing. “Of course, the fact that she’s summoning ice instead of water explains why she’s been having so much trouble with the lightning attacks Twilight’s been trying to teach her.”

Tear looked utterly baffled, but, as Asch and I are both regular casters of the Icicle Rain arte, I had a feeling I’d figured it out.

“Ice in artes is usually formed by the presence of second fonons, and earth and wind don’t tend to get along well,” I said. Dark nodded, then frowned.

“Is that...?”

“Gyah!”

Tear, Twilight, Sorylle, and I turned to see who had yelled. Probably also the person Dark had seen. I frowned when I realized it was Guy. But, Luke isn’t here. Why would Guy...?

I realized then just _why_ Guy had yelled the way he had and ran over to the ledge where he was, predictably, hanging on for dear life. I reached down and grabbed his arm, not thinking for a moment of his gynophobia.

Thanks to the poor lighting, I don’t think Guy realized who had pulled him back up until he was safe on the rock... At which point, he scrambled to get away from me, slipping again to be caught by Dark, this time. Guy sighed and finally managed to relax before looking to me.

“Sorry, I just...”

I smiled. “It’s alright. I’d rather have you freaking out up here than falling down there.”

Guy chuckled a bit and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah... Thanks, though.”

“Guy, what are you doing here?” Tear asked, stepping as close as she dared. Guy’s eyes went wide.

“Oh yeah!” I bit my lip when I registered the worried tone in his voice. “We’ve got to get to Daath, quick! Mohs has got Asch slotted for public execution tomorrow afternoon, and Sync, Ion, Natalia, and Jade are all locked up as well.”

I cursed, not bothering to be even the slightest bit polite about it. Then I frowned. “Wait, why is Asch being executed?”

Guy sighed. “It sounds like Mohs and Van are accusing him of high treason. Sync would be in the same boat, but they can’t risk executing him in public because he’s identical to Ion,” he said. I growled.

“Great... Let’s get moving. We haven’t got time to play around anymore.”

The others nodded, and I ended up leading the way through the caverns. Unfortunately, the fastest route had a bit of a... distraction... along it.

“Are... are those...?” Guy started, staring in shock.

I looked at them and smirked, then started giggling, which turned into a full-out cackle. The other three humans, after a few minutes, also busted up laughing. Once they’d finally calmed down a bit, I sighed.

“Ah... It’s a shame Koran couldn’t be here to see what’s... not really become of these two...” Dark gave me an odd look, and I started laughing again. “They charged him from opposite directions and he just jumped out of the way. They ran into each other, and... Walla! Iron Crab statues.”

This, of course, ended with everyone laughing again, and we finally managed to get past the damn crabs.

We stepped out into the midday sunlight, and I frowned. “We’ll be lucky to make it to Daath before dark if we run. Even so... If Mohs is going to kill Sync on his own time, I don’t want to waste any more time than strictly necessary.”

Guy crossed his arms. “Assuming he’s still alive, when exactly are we going to break everyone out?”

Tear fiddled with one of her gloves. “Well... They’ll probably move Asch about an hour before the execution. Um... Wait. Do we even know where they’re all being kept?”

Guy shook his head. “Anise should be waiting for us at the inn in Daath. She was going to stay behind and see what information she could gather while I came to get you guys.”

I nodded once, decisively. “Alright. Then we get to Daath first and get what we can from Anise. After that... I’ve got a couple ideas, but I’ll need Anise to confirm my suspicions first. Let’s go!”

The others nodded, and we were off, running for Daath as quickly as our bodies would take us. Of course, that left all three of us exhausted by the time we reached Fourth Monument Hill, but the sun was just going down. By that point, my knee was starting to hurt again, so I reluctantly asked Twilight for a ride.

We slipped into Daath without attracting too much attention, though Twilight and Sorylle drew a few eyes (we counted ourselves lucky that everyone was just used to Arietta’s ligers roaming around). Anise was, as predicted, sitting on the steps to the inn, and she jumped up when she saw us, leading us inside to one of the two rooms she’d booked. Once I was settled on a bed and absent-mindedly stitching my knee back together, she started her little freak out.

“Sync’s due to be executed first thing tomorrow morning, and they’ve moved Asch’s up from three to one!” she started. “Jade’s locked way, way down in the dungeons where people usually don’t bother looking, Ion’s trapped in his room, and I can’t figure out where Mohs put Natalia! She’s in headquarters somewhere, I just can’t figure out where!”

If it hadn’t been for the dire situation, I’d have grumbled about how Anise’s whiny voice was hurting my ears. But, the situation was _very_ dire, and Anise did have a reason to be freaking out.

“Do you know where they’re keeping Asch and Sync until the executions?” I asked. Anise sighed.

“Asch is locked up under headquarters on the first level of the prisons. Sync... I don’t know. But while Asch is gonna be hanged in the courtyard, it sounds like they’re planning on poisoning Sync. For all we know, they could have already poisoned him!”

I crossed my arms. “I hope it is poison. I taught Sync and Asch a long time ago how to remove poison from their bodies using Energies. Poison is something Sync can survive. But I can think of a dozen other ways they could kill him that he wouldn’t be able to live through.”

Dark cringed. “Okay, enough talk of death, please.”

I flinched. “You know what I just realized...?” The morbid fascination in my tone was probably what made Tear blanche. “Death is just one letter off from being Daath... No wonder I don’t get along with this place...”

“Morbid thought... What are we going to do?” Guy asked. I frowned and looked up at Tear.

“You’ve been in the cathedral for at least part of your training, yes?” I asked. She nodded. “Drills, patrols, breakfast, I need to know timing, as much as you can remember.”

She nodded, then took a deep breath and started listing off the basic schedule, as best as she could given that she hadn’t been down there in over a year. Once I had a basic idea, I pulled out a piece of paper and started scribbling things down. Then I crossed my arms and looked up at our little group.

“Alright... Twilight, you’re going to have to act independently. If the reactions, or lack thereof, from the citizens is any indication, ligers walking around are rather common. You’ll be our lookout. Dark, you’re taking Sorylle with you. She’s quiet on her feet, and you’re a former assassin. Get Ion out. Tear, you’re going to be operating by yourself as well. You’ve got an Oracle Knights uniform, make use of it to get into headquarters and find Natalia. Anise, similar thing as Tear, except you’re going to stop in Ion’s room first. Sync may not like it, but his replica status may work to our advantage.”

“What about us?” Guy asked. I frowned.

“You’re coming with me below headquarters. Your target is Asch. Mine is Jade. Any questions?”

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Kairi’s comment about just realizing the thing with Death and Daath? Yeah. That was completely spur-of-the moment because_ I’d _just realized it._


	39. Chapter 4.3 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/21

_“I feel like we’ve been in this situation before... Except slightly reversed...” –Kairi_

_“We’re all going to die.” –Jade_

_And any doubt that I’ve got a few screws loose is now completely gone. –Kairi_

* * *

“Halt! Who goes there?”

I resisted the urge to be snarky and kept a blank face. “Major Zephyr of the Intelligence Division. I caught this man attempting to reach the Fon Master without authorization,” I replied. Guy was, predictably, unarmed and in cuffs, though where Anise had found them was beyond me. Useful for our little ruse, though, even if Guy was struggling not to fling himself away every few seconds.

The soldiers saluted and let me past, and I caught a glance of Tear up above as we stepped into the headquarters. She’d gone the other way, while Anise was heading up to Ion’s room.

I wouldn’t risk saying it out loud, but I was thinking it anyway.

So far, so good.

Dark and Sorylle were loitering around in the library until they got the all-clear from Twilight, who was subtly harassing some of the Oracle Knights. Arietta wasn’t in town, so they didn’t even have anyone to tell him to stop. They were waiting for Anise to come back down from Ion’s room with the spare clothes.

Sync, as much as he would hate it, was going to have to dress up as Fon Master Ion in order to get out of here.

Tear was, of course, meandering around Oracle Knights Headquarters in an attempt at finding Natalia. She actually would have more time than Anise would.

We’d found out that Sync was on the second level of the prisons. We’d have to get Asch freed before Anise could get to him. Anise had said that there would be two guards at Asch’s cell. Our plan? Knock out the guards and strip them of their armor. Guy and Asch would be returning above ground as Oracle Knights.

This next part was the reason why I was dressed up as Major Mirage Zephyr again.

Daath had, according to Anise, six levels of prisons, though she had mentioned that there was rumored to be a seventh (which would make sense, given that Tales of the Abyss does everything in sevens). Jade should be on the sixth, which was usually restricted to Maestros and above. However, the only two people in the Intelligence Division who qualified thus were Aerith Aurelius and Grand Maestro Mohs himself. Therefore, with Aerith currently in St. Binah (according to Pamela Tatlin) and Grand Maestro Mohs busy preparing for the executions, who was going to interrogate the Malkuth Colonel?

I just hoped the soldiers would fall for my bluff.

I paused when I noted just which cell Asch was in, and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. As it was...

I slipped the key into Guy’s hand, and after jerking away from me, he proceeded to remove the cuffs. A sword was passed over next, my sword, not his, as I couldn’t risk the rather more noticeable light from a wing pack, and the two of us looked to each other and nodded before racing toward the Oracle Knights.

One of them managed to cry out in surprise before Guy jabbed the hilt of the sword into his neck. The blonde handed over my sword, then knelt and started stripping armor off while I found the key and unlocked the all-too-familiar cell.

“...Guy? ...Kairi?!”

I chuckled. “I feel like we’ve been in this situation before... Except slightly reversed...”

I opened the cell only to get bopped upside the head for my comment. Guy stood and handed over the armor. “Kairi...”

“Jade, I know. Make sure these two won’t be waking up any time soon, yes?”

Asch, who had slipped off to a different cell, returned, pulling out a rather familiar bottle. “You mind if we use a bit of this? Should keep them out of it for a while.”

I nodded, then turned to Guy. “Remember our rendezvous. Ditch the armor as soon as you’re able,” I started before sighing. “We went over this half an hour ago, I don’t need to tell you again.”

Guy chuckled. “Just warn Sync on your way down.”

I made a face. “Yeah... I’ll do that.”

“Wait, warn Sync?” Asch asked. I sighed and shook my head.

“Ask Guy. I have to go,” I said, turning and heading further down the hall. The prison cells, unlike the rest of Daath, were actually rather easy to navigate. That said, it took me ten minutes to reach Sync’s cell. Anise would be catching up within the next fifteen at the most.

“Sync?”

A too-pale face turned toward the hall after a moment, and Sync stood carefully. “I’m very glad you taught us how to flush poison,” he stated, voice shaky. I frowned.

“Sit down and focus on getting your strength back up. Anise will be down here shortly to get you out. And... Don’t kill her. The only way we’re getting you out without attracting too much attention is if we pass you off as Ion.”

Sync took a deep breath, then sat down and cringed. “Well, at least I’ll have the whole ‘weak constitution’ thing down,” he mumbled. That was about the point where I started worrying about him. Even when he was feeling a bit off, he was still snarky and stubborn, especially where Ion was concerned. So why...?

“Sync, when did they...?”

“Last night, in my drinking water. I fell asleep right after, and... I think I caught it in time, but just barely,” he admitted. I nodded.

“Alright. Be cooperative with Anise. She’s got your disguise and knows where the rendezvous is. I have to go find Jade still.”

Sync didn’t even respond to that as I turned and walked off, further into the dungeons of Daath.

So, Asch was taken care of, Tear was still looking for Natalia, or maybe by that point had already found her, Anise would be getting Sync soon, and Dark and Sorylle would be going for Ion. That meant Jade was the only one who hadn’t been accounted for.

I made it down to the fifth level and was about to make the turn that would send me down the steps to the sixth when I froze, having heard voices.

“He isn’t talking, sir.”

“Hmm... And here I thought, what with Asch’s relationship with his sister, he would have at least considered giving up the information to postpone the boy’s execution. Apparently he has no regards for the girl’s memory after all.”

I resisted the urge to race around the corner and attack Mohs. Murdering, manipulative bastard.

“Sir, what would you have us do?”

“I’ve asked for one of my Intelligence officers to come interrogate him, although I’m not sure when the officer will arrive. Unfortunately, I have to go see if that useless replica is dead yet before I finish preparing for Asch’s execution,” Mohs replied. I glanced around, slipped into a dark recess in the wall, and held my breath, watching as Mohs walked right past my hiding place. Once I was sure he was gone, I slipped out, quietly walked back the way I’d come for a bit, and then turned and headed back for the level six stairs, head held high and steps quick and steady.

I rounded the corner about five minutes after Mohs had left.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

I was certainly glad for the poor lighting which hid the twitch of my lip. I didn’t think I’d be able to resist being snarky if I got asked that a third time.

“Major Mirage Zephyr, fourth platoon Oracle Knights Intelligence Division.”

“Ah, the Grand Maestro said you’d be coming. Go ahead. The prisoner’s cell is also guarded,” the soldier on the right said. His companion had been the one to drop the cheesy line.

I nodded, a short, clipped movement, and continued down into the darkness. I made a left turn, then another left, then a right...

“Halt! Who goes there?”

“Tyto alba.”

“Huh?”

_Thunk!_

I chuckled a bit and found the key ring the soldier carried. This one had two keys on it, one for the cell, and one for...

I unlocked the cell door and stepped in, noting the way Jade was blinking at me. “Tyto alba?”

“Barn owl.”

“Why...?”

“Because that’s got to be one of the cheesiest lines I’ve ever heard. People who say things like that need to be cracked upside the head.”

“I take it that was the clank I heard?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I unlocked the chains binding my older brother. It took him a moment before he sighed.

“Your sense of humor needs some serious adjustment.”

I shrugged. “So? Alright, let’s get out of here. Just lock this idiot in the cell behind us when we leave.” I had slipped out of the maroon coat and sleeves, pulling on the off-white jacket instead and letting my hair loose, though Anise had given me one of Natalia’s headbands (elastic, thank heavens) to keep it from getting in my face.

Jade nodded, dragging the unconscious Oracle Knight in and then following me out. I put a hand out, motioning for him to stay put, while I raced up the steps, both swords materializing. Two hilts were slammed into the backs of two necks, shutting the soldiers up before they could utter a protest.

I waved, and Jade ran up behind me. “Any idea where your equipment is?”

Jade sighed and shook his head. “No, sorry. Although Asch had most of our things in his wing pack. A few gels, a single Life Bottle, and my spear was all I had on my person,” he admitted. I held out my sword.

“Not your favorite weapon, I know, but I’d rather you not be running around unarmed.”

He smirked, accepting the sword without even a bit of protest. “By the way... Where did the other one come from?” I chuckled, continuing to race through the dungeons.

“I’ll tell you later, yes?”

We made it to the first level of the prisons before hell started to break loose.

“Fon Master Ion has been kidnapped!”

“Two of the prisoners are gone too!”

“Did you hear? It looks like Daemione’s back!”

“One of the missing prisoners is his employer, he’s probably the one who took her.”

“I heard he was the one that went after the Fon Master.”

“That can’t be right, I saw the Fon Master with one of his guards just ten minutes ago!”

I couldn’t force down the grin that spread across my face. “Chaos. Absolute chaos.”

Jade groaned. “We’re all going to die.”

It took every bit of my self-control to not laugh my ass off at his rather understandable hypothesis. Of course, what with all of the soldiers milling around... Ah-ha!

I grabbed Jade’s arm and raced for an opening. Shouts of surprise rang out, and even though I knew we’d been caught, I ignored them, running as hard as I could. I hadn’t set up any back-up plans in advance, this time. I hadn’t had a chance.

Two Oracle Knights stepped into our way, and I swung Silver Clematis, the blade gouging one arm and then stabbing into another’s side. The second wouldn’t be a fatal wound, as the man hadn’t been exposed to the blade’s poison. The first, however, hissed in pain and stumbled. I kicked him out of the way and continued running, Jade on my heels. Rather than attempting to fight with a weapon he wasn’t used to, he was simply keeping the sword between himself and the enemy weapons.

The two of us broke out into the open, and I finally let Silver Clematis fragment and reform on my arm. “Sword!” I yelled at Jade. He handed my sword back to me, then raced ahead, as there were less Oracle Knights that way.

I stopped once or twice to bat away swords, but as the crowds became a bit worse, the soldiers were forced to fall back, and my brother and I finally made it out of Daath. Jade took a moment to pause and catch his breath, while I reached out telepathically. One, two, three, four, five, six... seven, eight... nine, ten. Wait, where’s...?

Twilight was still in Daath, but he was making his way out as we stood there, catching our breath. Everyone else was at the rendezvous, or close to it, anyway. I looked at Jade, and he nodded before the two of us started walking again.

By the time we reached Fourth Monument Hill, Twilight had caught up, and he offered to carry the two of us the rest of the way to the rendezvous. As Jade was exhausted from lack of sleep and food (Mohs had really, really wanted whatever information he could get out of the colonel) and my knee was hurting _again_ , we agreed.

It wasn’t quite noon by the time we met up with the others.

“You guys make it out alright?” Anise asked. I chuckled.

“Yeah, although we made a bit of a scene trying to fight through all of the chaos... Beautiful chaos... If anyone else had caused it, I’d have stuck around to laugh at it.”

And any doubt that I’ve got a few screws loose is now completely gone.

Asch sighed, shook his head, and pulled out his wing pack, pulling out weapons, gels, and other items and distributing them among the people who had been captured. Between previous traveling experiences and Jade handing over a spare spear, Asch had plenty to go around. In fact, the only person who didn’t have a weapon by the time he was done was Natalia, so I handed over my bow and quiver to the Kimlascan princess.

Once everyone was armed, we set off for Daath Bay.

“So, what are we going to do next?” Sync asked from where I had stubbornly deposited him on Twilight’s back. It was a bit odd with Ion walking along next to him, because I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between them.

“We should talk to Uncle and Emperor Peony, see if we can’t stop them from fighting,” Asch said, obviously not paying attention to what he was saying.

“Uncle?”

Asch made a face, and I sighed. “Might as well be honest. It’s not like Luke’s here to argue... And even if he were, given Sync and Ion...” I trailed off because Asch was glaring at me. He looked between me and Natalia, who was frowning.

Then her eyes widened, and Asch flinched. “You’re a...? No! Luke! Luke’s the replica! You’re... Luke? Oh, this is confusing.”

Asch groaned, while I grinned. “Welcome to life, Natalia. It’s not supposed to make sense.”

Natalia crossed her arms and glared at me. “You knew! You knew the Luke at Fabre Manor was a replica!”

I shrugged. “So? Luke is Luke. Asch is Asch. And they both have nasty tempers, although Asch is generally a bit more reasonable.”

Asch shot me a grateful look, before smacking himself upside the head and digging around in his bag.

Then he tossed me a bottle, and the rest of us figured out what he’d almost forgotten.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Jade’s comment about Kairi’s sense of humor is a reference to a running gag Tea, Tony, and I had a_ long _time ago. Basically, someone says ‘Who’s there?’ and the next person replies with a species of owl. Though Kairi decided to get all scientific here with her ‘Tyto Alba’ reply. Why owls? ‘Hoot’ can guess? :D_


	40. Chapter 4.4 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8/21

_“The creepy cat lady that Jade doesn’t like, apparently.” –Asch_

_“What? Was I not supposed to come back or something?” –Sync_

_“Your singing voice leaves something to be desired, and Sync and computers usually don’t go well together.” –Kairi_

* * *

 

It was that dull creaking sound that first worried me.

Then there was the metallic screech, accompanied by shaking. Jade looked over at Guy, and the two of them raced out of the bridge. Asch gave me a look, holding up a hand and signing four letters. T-O-T-A.

I frowned a moment and thought about it. What did happen in the game after Daath? Hmm... Let’s see, going to Grand Chokmah, the Sword Dancer, Theor Forest... Wait. No, there was something else...

Nephry!

A wide grin broke across my face. “Nephry visit!”

Asch looked like he wasn’t sure whether to be happy for me getting to see my sister again, or concerned about whatever was causing us to have to stop. Tear and Natalia exchanged a look with Anise.

“Nephry?”

“My little sister. Well, my biological little sister. Kairi’s older sister,” Jade said, stepping back in. It had been a few minutes, at least. He looked over at me. “Are you feeling alright?”

I blinked a few times, then frowned and raised a hand to my forehead. Damn. I was burning up again.

I sighed and stood, heading for one of the cabins. That was enough answer for them, and I really didn’t feel like admitting, out loud, that I was ill. I sat down on the bed in the cabin and pulled myself out of my body.

My memory wasn’t perfect, but... didn’t Ion save Tear by drawing the miasma-tainted seventh fonons in her body into his own? That was what I was working with, but...

Then it hit me, and I felt like a complete idiot.

Most of the miasma wasn’t still attached to the seventh fonons. My body’s developing fonslots couldn’t handle that stress, and so it had been separated and the fonons freed.

Lucky fonons.

But if that was the case, then wouldn’t a more forceful version of the classic poison-flushing work?

I reached out, drawing together water and moon Energies. A few fire Energies were thrown into the mix, and then, reluctantly, I reached out, slipping the Energies into my body—or more specifically, into my torso around my lung—and started the process.

The drain on my strength told me that it was definitely working, and after a few minutes, I released the Energies and slipped back into my body.

Asch had the misfortune of walking in on me as I screamed and blacked out.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I hissed as I came back to consciousness.

“Kairi?”

I forced my eyes open to look up at Asch. He looked worried. “You shouldn’t be able to feel anything... I’m surprised you’re even awake...”

I realized then that he had, once again, drugged me up on morphine. I took a deep, painful breath. “Miasma.”

Asch nodded, and I scowled and threw a mental spear at him before he could speak, because I could tell, just from his expression, that he’d misinterpreted me.

*I found a way to get rid of the miasma,* I said. Asch’s eyes widened slightly.

“What does that have to do with—“

*Imprint. I removed too much at once, the pain imprint knocked me out.*

Asch blinked a few times, then cringed. “It’s just like the poison-flushing trick that saved Sync, isn’t it?” I nodded. “But, I thought you said...”

*My body wasn’t designed to hold fonons, especially not in those quantities. Due to my experience working with Energies, I was subconsciously separating the miasma from the seventh fonons, just like I always have to clean up Energies in places of death.*

“And the miasma stuck around in your body.”

I nodded again and slowly started to sit up. Now that the pain was fading a bit, I could feel the sluggishness that usually came with the morphine. I sat there a moment, contemplating whether to flush the morphine or let it wear off on its own.

“Kairi?”

“I’ll be okay. I just need to be more careful about removing the miasma,” I said, my voice hoarse. I’d probably been screaming longer than I realized before blacking out.

Asch looked reluctant, but he helped me to my feet, and I followed him back to the bridge. It was getting rather chilly. Were we near Keterburg already?

“Ah, you’re awake. We’ll be arriving in Keterburg in an hour,” Jade said. I nodded absently, and Jade frowned. “Kairi?”

“I’m alright... I did something stupid, but I’ll be fine by the time we get to Nephry’s... Assuming you have my coat...” I trailed off, looking at Asch. The redhead looked at me like I’d grown a second head, then flinched and pulled his own off, slipping it around my shoulders.

“Sorry. I forgot you have a tendency to get cold, or I’d have picked up a new one in Daath.”

I shrugged. “I’ll be okay... Not like Arielle and the others don’t keep the place warm, anyways.” Sync chuckled.

“Yeah. It’ll be nice to see Arielle again, don’t you think?”

I nodded. “It’ll be nice to see all of them again. Arielle, Barst, Nephry, even the creepy cat lady.”

Jade shuddered. “Can we please avoid Miss Liza? Please?”

Asch, Sync and I exchanged conspiratorial looks. “The creepy cat lady that Jade doesn’t like, apparently,” Asch noted. Natalia frowned, but Asch didn’t notice, already sitting back in his usual seat. I took mine and poked around with the monitor for a little bit. Not like there’s much for me to do at the moment.

“Hey, Kairi? Um... Since we’ve still got some time... Could I talk to you?” Sync asked. I noted that he was standing near the exit. So, he didn’t want to talk around the others? I stood again and nodded, and we headed out onto the deck.

“Something wrong?”

“Ion has dead Energies... a lot of dead Energies.”

“Sun?” I guessed. In fact, I’d guessed this from the day I found out Sync had dead moon Energies.

“Sun and moon both, but mostly sun, yes.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the railing. “And why do you suddenly sound so upset about this? I seem to recall you loathing Ion and his position.”

Sync looked up at me, then out over the water. “The title, yes. I don’t ever want to be the Fon Master. I don’t care for Ion’s... disposition, nor do I want to help people the way he wants to. I also hate being reminded that we’re identical... even if it did save my life. But...” He stopped here and started fiddling around with his gloves. I noted that he’d sounded exasperated for most of his little rant, up until the end. Still...

Sync sighed. “Kairi... I’m only going to say this once.” I looked down at him, and realized, quite suddenly, how very similar we were. Both hiding our true selves behind masks... “Thank you, for saving me.”

I let the small smile slip across my lips. He wasn’t talking about Daath. Well, not this particular episode. Memories started playing through my mind. Our first actual meeting.

_I was about halfway through eating when Sync stopped playing with his eggs with a sigh._

_“Thank you.”_

The day I started knocking sense into his head.

_The moment I stepped into our cabin, Sync whirled around and glared openly at me. “Where the hell is my mask?!”_

The first time the three of us went through the Deo Pass.

_“You couldn’t be bothered to wake me up?”_

_...I smiled. “You needed the rest, so stop complaining,”_

The memories started to come back even faster. Bringing Sync onto the second plane the first time. Waking up in St. Binah after my body nearly destabilized. Digging around in one of Peony’s junk piles. Supporting Sync when we returned to Mt. Roneal. Sync supporting me as I told him, Asch, and Dark about my dad. Sync and Selenia at Asch’s birthday.

I smiled at the memories as one more came to the forefront of my mind.

Sync and Cantabile, embracing outside Choral Castle.

“I’d do it a million times over if I had to.”

Sync chuckled and looked up at me. “I know. The trail of adoption papers might make you my aunt, but you’ll always be my older sister.”

I nodded. “That’s right. So... You want me to help Ion, or do you want to do it?”

Sync looked back over the water. “I... I’ll do it. I guess... We’re both replicas, but... I guess that sort of makes me his older brother, since I was... ‘born’ first.”

I hummed. “True. Still... It’s hard work, being an older sibling. You have to look out for the younger ones, and sometimes, it’s hard to accept that they can take care of themselves.”

Sync chuckled. “I guess. But I... I want to be the one to do it. If for no other reason than to spite Mohs... Although I can’t even bring myself to say that like I mean it.”

I put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing for a moment before turning and heading back to the bridge. “Let me know when I have to explain the process,” I called over my shoulder. I paused a moment to look forward. I could see land already, which meant we were close.

So, Keterburg. I wondered idly if Asch would protest us going up Mt. Roneal to check on the sephiroth.

Then I remembered someone, and went from standing around on the deck to running into the bridge. “Did anyone find anything out on Reighn?”

Asch looked up at me, smirk barely suppressed. “You’re just _now_ asking that?”

I reached over and smacked the smartass before turning back to the others. “Well? Anything?”

Jade adjusted his glasses, trying and failing to hide his own amusement. “It seems he agreed to help escort one of the groups into the Deo Pass and was, luckily, out of range when Akzeriuth fell. However, being an outsider, he was arrested under charge of being an accomplice to the destruction of Akzeriuth... despite all arguments otherwise, apparently.”

Asch nodded. “He’s being held in Grand Chokmah to await trial. We should arrive before then, even with the stop in Keterburg, assuming we only spend one extra day there.”

So, no trips to Mt. Roneal. Dang.

“What’s that face?” Dark asked suspiciously. I sighed and shrugged.

“I’d just been hoping I could make a trip up Mt. Roneal before we left for Grand Chokmah, but if it means getting Reighn out of trouble, I’m willing to skip it,” I said, a bit reluctantly, slipping back into my seat.

Twilight growled over my shoulder, and I initiated the connection.

*I could carry you, if you want. If we left at first light, we could make it up and back down before dusk, a little after depending on how long your business will take.*

I sighed. *No. For one thing, you’d have to carry me _and_ Sync... Besides, that would leave you exhausted, wouldn’t it?*

Twilight let a thoughtful rumble form in his throat. *What if we left tonight? If we were to rest between the city and the mountain, then set out after the two of you woke... We would still have plenty of time. And I do not tire so easily as you seem to worry I do.*

I crossed my arms. *I don’t care how easily you tire, I don’t want to risk you getting too hurt.*

*I will be fine.*

*Alright. Then I suppose I should warn Sync.*

*He comes.*

I looked up. Sure enough, the door opened and let the green-haired teen in question onto the bridge. He glanced around. “What? Was I not supposed to come back or something?”

I grinned. “I told them I threw you overboard.”

Sync looked at me, not sure if I was joking or not, before rolling his eyes and walking over to his usual station. “Har, har, get a sense of humor.”

“What’s wrong with the one I have now?”

“Plenty.” This came from a number of people, and I’m not entirely sure who all spoke, so I’m afraid I can’t tell you.

“As amusing as listening to you all is, we’re going to be docking soon.” And Jade, ruining the moment, as usual.

“Ah, then Twilight and I are kidnapping Sync soon.”

“Wait, what?!”

“You heard me right the first time.”

“And where exactly are you three going?” Asch asked.

“Mt. Roneal.”

I didn’t miss the way Sync’s back suddenly went stiff. “Kairi...” Asch muttered. A warning tone.

Sync shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

“It wasn’t really you I was worried about,” Asch admitted. I frowned.

“ _I_ have to check them, Asch. Your singing voice leaves something to be desired, and Sync and computers usually don’t go well together.”

Asch made a face that accurately described what he thought of my comment and the situation. “When you put it like that...”

Anise, however, was baffled. “What does Asch’s singing voice have to do with anything?”

Asch, Sync, and I, being the only three who knew about how to open the passage rings, got a good laugh out of that one, and ended up leaving the poor Fon Master Guard even more baffled.

“Ahem.” Jade, again.

I turned back to my monitor and started adjusting controls. Asch, Guy, Dark, Anise, and Sync did likewise, while Jade directed everything from above. I, personally, was very tempted to grumble at Natalia to sit down and learn the controls just so she’d stop hovering over Asch’s shoulder.

Of course once we got the Tartarus docked, managed to get through the Malkuth soldiers, and were standing just outside the port, I hopped up on Twilight’s back, holding a hand out for Sync.

“You have to go now?” Anise asked in surprise. I sighed and nodded.

“If we’re going to make it up and back before you leave the morning after tomorrow, yes. Apologize to Nephry for me? I kept promising to visit her as soon as I could, but...”

Jade nodded. “This obviously is important. Just be careful. It might be the quiet season, but the monsters around here are still the strongest in the world,” he said. Dark nodded.

“I’d come with you, but Sorylle’s still too small. Good luck.”

I nodded, then looked down at Twilight around Sync. The liger grunted and then took off, picking up speed as he ran. I held Sync close, both for the warmth of another human body, and as a subtle way of comforting the younger teen.

We hadn’t been running that long when we hit familiar forest.

*Keep to the path for a bit. There’s a side path that leads out to a cabin.*

Twilight sent a confirmation back through the connection, and slowed after a bit.

*That’s it.*

He padded along down the path at a clip Sync and I would be hard-pressed to match.

As the old cabin came into view, I felt a wave of nostalgia.

Except this time, there was no gray-furred, brown-maned liger to tackled me to the ground. Just me, and Sync, and Twilight.

No Koran.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Well, not so fun. I miss Koran. I really do. I hated killing him off. But... Well... Plot development required it. I’m so sorry Koran! I miss you!_

_On an entirely different note... The scene with Kairi and Sync was... Not actually planned. It just sort happened._


	41. Chapter 4.5 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10/21

_“I just had the most interesting conversation with Van.” –Kairi_

_“Whee—umph!” –Kairi_

_“Aw, I missed out on that?” –Asch_

* * *

 

“Brr... Remind me again why I hate coming up here?”

“Avalanches?”

“...That too.”

I giggled a bit. “Hurry with the seal... It may not be much warmer in there, but at least there’s no wind.”

“Yeah,” Sync agreed, holding up his arms. The usual ringed circle appeared, did its spinning thing, and then disappeared. The three of us—myself, Sync, and Twilight—ran inside to get out of the freezing wind.

I was suddenly very glad Asch had given me his coat, because nothing I had in my wing pack would have stood up to this cold.

We made our way through the sephiroth quietly. It was cold, but at least between the lack of wind and Twilight keeping his warm, furry self between us, we weren’t freezing anymore. The three of us stopped on the lift and went down to where the passage ring was waiting. I looked at the golden terminal, feeling a hesitation I’d never really felt before. Of course, I hadn’t remembered that I was pretty much killing myself before.

“Kairi? We don’t have to—“

“No.” My voice hung heavy, not with denial, but with resignation. “We can’t stay ignorant of Van’s objectives... Or his movements.”

I walked over to the terminal. It had been myself, Sync, and Asch running around the sephiroth, but really, the only one of us that needed to be at the passage ring was me. Sync needed to unlock the Daathic Seal, but I was the one that knew how to operate the Dawn Age technology.

I put a hand out, and the terminal opened, that all-so-familiar wave of pain coming over me with a vengeance.

The passage ring lit up, and I glanced up at it. Sure enough, the Albertesque seal was non-existent. That left two of them. The Yulian Seal...

_“Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa~ Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei~”_

And our seal.

_Kairi Balfour.

_Asch fon Fabre.

_Sync Osborne.

Finally having unlocked the passage ring, I glanced up and grimaced. I’d been right.

“Uh... Why does the Shurrey Hill sephiroth have a red ring around it?” Sync asked. I sighed.

“Because Van broke through our seal and closed the passage ring,” I said. I started poking around a bit, then scowled. “Of course he did.”

“Huh? What?”

“Van’s done with his seal what we did with ours, or maybe he just re-wrote ours. At any rate, we’ll have to go to Shurrey Hill ourselves to fix it.”

“Are we going to go there while the others go to Grand Chokmah?”

“No. If nothing else, we should go see if Emperor Peony wants a new project.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

_Grr..._

I glanced at Twilight and opened a connection. *Three clockwise of the red-ringed.*

I looked up and my eyes widened. Sure enough, in addition to the red-ringed Shurrey Hill diagram and the lit-up Mt. Roneal diagram, the Zao Ruins were also lit. I frowned and looked down at the terminal. I wonder...

I closed my eyes and felt around the terminal with my mind, finding with no small degree of surprise that my theory had been correct.

*Good afternoon, er... Actually, isn’t it morning where you are?*

Shock, rage, and amusement all echoed back to me as I opened my eyes again and started working. I had a seal to fix... hopefully before Van got to it.

*Wait... Who’s finding this funny?* Van asked suspiciously.

Judging from the chuckle I could hear from the other end, I’d say that would be Zion. Huh... A green-haired kid that actually _appreciates_ my humor.

*I thought you said you could break the connection!* Luke grumbled at Zion.

*Why bother? We’re not doing anything she isn’t already aware of. In case you didn’t notice, the Mt. Roneal sephiroth was already lit up when we arrived. Besides, listening to you two is so amusing.*

It bothered me that I was starting to find disturbing similarities between Zion and _Jade_ , of all people.

*I’m surprised you haven’t let Asch and Sync in on this yet. Seeing as you survived Akzeriuth, I figure they likely did as well.*

I smirked. *Ask Mohs about his failed attempt at an execution, would you? And remind me again why I need to stay away from Daath...*

I took a moment to finish up with the seal while listening to Zion and Luke bickering. *Well, if you gentle... er... Scratch that one. If you boys will excuse me...*

I broke the connection and closed up the sephiroth, noting that my new lock had fallen into place quite nicely. Then, after bearing through a second wave of pain and exhaustion, I turned to Sync and Twilight.

“I just had the most interesting conversation with Van.”

Sync stared at me like I’d suddenly told him I was male instead of female, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression.

“How?” he asked, finally finding his voice again. I smiled and pointed to the terminal.

“The passage rings are directly connected to each other. I just used this one to connect to the one in the Zao Ruins and... well, it wasn’t so much a conversation as it was me confusing the shit out of Luke and amusing your original. Van wasn’t very happy with him, actually...”

Sync rolled his eyes. “Are we heading back now?”

I nodded. “Yes. Also, you, Asch, and Dark know the answer to unlock this passage ring. I don’t think Zion will be able to figure it out, and Van certainly won’t,” I said. Sync tilted his head to the side, wondering just what I was talking about, before his eyes widened.

“Tales of the Abyss.”

“The game of truth.”

Sync chuckled. “Oh yeah. That one will certainly confuse Van.”

I nodded again. “Yes, now then... Back to Keterburg!”

“Ice slides?”

“Of course!”

Twilight growled a bit. *Ice slides?*

“Fastest way down the mountain. Not much help going up, but...” I trailed off and headed off, Sync and Twilight following me quietly. There was one ice slide that connected a path coming from the passage ring to a lower path, and then there was another one, the one that had landed Asch, Sync and I in a pile at the end of it.

Twilight, rather than sliding down the first one, just jumped down from one path to the other. Then we reached the second one. I grinned.

“Ready?”

Sync nodded. “Yeah.”

“Just try not to scream too loud. We don’t want the mountain to come down on our heads,” I reminded him before shoving him onto the ice.

I would at least be polite enough to not laugh at the squeak he let off as he started slipping.

Twilight growled quietly. *Are you sure this is safe?*

I nodded. “Yep. We’ve all done it before. Just try not to dig your claws in, okay?”

Twilight took a deep breath, stepped onto the ice carefully, and then pulled his legs in, inching forward until gravity started to pull him along. A final growl of uncertainty slipped out before he was sliding down the ice, and I grinned, keeping an eye on where he was. Since my telepathic field was rather wide, I had waited until Sync had left it to send Twilight down.

Then Twilight blinked out of range, and I grinned, racing for the ice, jumping, and sliding at quite a speed down the slope. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. It was fun. I didn’t care for the cold, but this was exhilarating.

“Whee—umph!” And that, my friends, is the sound of me slamming into a snowbank.

I heard laughter, both human and liger, and I pulled myself out of the snow with a grin. “See? I told you it’s fun!”

Twilight shook his head. *Fun, yes. Safe? ...Well. Mostly.*

I laughed and ran over, hopping up onto the liger’s back and pulling Sync on in front of me. Twilight was up and running almost immediately. *With that much time cut off, we might even make it back in time for dinner,* he admitted. I grinned.

“Dinner would be nice.”

Twilight didn’t even bother to pause as we passed by Dark’s old home. We wouldn’t be staying there two nights in a row. No, this time, we were sleeping in our nice, warm rooms at Nephry’s mansion.

The sun was just dipping down to the horizon when Twilight slowed. I hopped off his back and frowned, then shrugged. “Whatever. Come on.”

It’s probably a good thing there weren’t that many people around as we made our way through town. Twilight attracted stares, but a pointed glare turned most of them away.

Stepping into the mansion was heaven, if for no other reason than because it was warm. A sneaky smirk worked its way onto my face, and Sync watched warily as I headed over to the hallway that led to the dining room. Seeing that everyone was not only gathered in the room, but also eating, I contemplated how to announce my arrival, though there really wasn’t much of a question about it.

Sorylle looked up at me, and I raised a finger to my lips in a ‘don’t tell’ gesture. The little liger laid down and put her paws over her head. Probably a wise move...

“Honey, I’m home!”

Amidst all of the choking and laughter, I somehow ended up trapped in Nephry’s arms while my older sister jabbered on and attempted to squeeze the life out of me.

Once airways were cleared and Sync and I were given plates of food, Natalia crossed her arms and gave me a haughty glare. “That was highly unnecessary.”

Asch, Sync, Nephry, and a familiar blonde maid standing behind Nephry all laughed along with me. “Ah, no, that was very much necessary,” I said.

Arielle, for it was indeed the girl I’d tutored in English, stepped forward a bit. “Kairi, Asch, and Sync have a bad habit of arriving at mealtimes... And actually, Asch was the one that started the whole thing.”

“I was being sarcastic!”

“You still started it,” Sync said.

Nephry giggled. “Regardless of who started it, I don’t think it would feel right if they walked in during a meal _without_ saying that.”

Asch sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, but it was so completely out of place with the conversation we were having that I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to get back to that for a while now.”

“Not tonight, anyway,” Jade said. “Though, I thought you said you’d be hard-pressed to get back before we left?”

I grinned. “I forgot about the slides.”

“Aw, I missed out on that?”

Sync and I stared at Asch, who, upon realizing that he _had_ said that out loud, turned a shade of red just a little short of his hair color and brought a hand up to attempt to hide his face.

“...Slides?” Guy asked, apparently trying to be merciful to Asch. That, or just confused.

I smiled. “The ice on Mt. Roneal is really, really smooth in a couple of places. There’s one really long stretch that, if you hop on at the top, will carry you all the way to the bottom.”

“And smack into a snowdrift.”

“Yes, but the ice has to stop somewhere.”

“Which is where the ‘Whee-oomph’ from earlier came from?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

Sorylle growled at Twilight, who growled back, and the two started in on their own little conversation.

Natalia looked at Asch in shock. “You wanted slide down a mountain? On _ice_?”

He chuckled. “It was fun... Even the parts where Sync shoved me down and we all ended up in a pile at the bottom.”

Sync snorted. “I didn’t appreciate getting a mouthful of your hair, though.”

“I didn’t appreciate having both of you on top of me,” I said. Sync paused.

“Is that why you went last this time?”

I shrugged. “Actually... It was more a matter of making sure Twilight went down than anything else. By the way, you should try getting a running start next time.”

It was a good thing Jade’s plate was long gone, because his head hit the table.

“Jade?!”

My brother shook his head slightly. “You three... are talking about throwing yourselves down an ice sheet on _Mt. Roneal_... There is something that is simply not right with your heads.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Asch, Sync, and I chorused. Nephry sighed.

“You need hobbies...”

“We have hobbies,” I said.

“Kairi draws, I train, Asch... Well, Asch might need a hobby.” Aforementioned redhead shot Sync a nasty look.

“But this one’s something all three of us can do... As long as Sync doesn’t freak out on the way up.” Now the nasty look was sent back the other direction.

“Why would Sync freak out?” Anise asked.

Ah, Anise. All of her questions asked with innocent intentions, none of them easy to answer. “Avalanches.”

All eyes turned to Sync, who was quite pale suddenly. I put an arm around him, since we’d ended up next to each other. “Sync and I met because he got caught in an avalanche and Koran heard it. The two of us dug him out. Sync invited me to Daath later, which is where I met Asch,” I said. “And while I’d never want him to have to go through that again, I’m not going to say that I wish it had never happened.”

Sync looked up and nodded. “Yeah.”

Asch nodded as well, then frowned, giving me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes, reluctantly opening a connection. *Yes, your paranoid-ness?*

*Miasma?*

*I’m already filtering it out, as quickly as I can without too much pain.*

*Please tell me there’s no more than there was when I checked you in Akzeriuth.*

I shook my head. *I don’t know. I’d have to check, but... I don’t know, Asch.*

“Really, you two?” Nephry crossed her arms. She’d known about my telepathy since the ‘birthday party’ we had held for Asch, since I’d accidently wrapped her up in it at one point.

“Doctor-patient confidentiality,” Asch muttered. “I wouldn’t be bothering otherwise.”

I scowled and went back to finishing my dinner. Once it was done, I stood. “I’m going to bed.”

“We dumped Dark and the monsters in your room,” Nephry said. Dark shrugged.

“I’ll sleep on the floor.”

I rolled my eyes. “Take the bed. I don’t think I’d be able to handle laying on something soft tonight. Besides, I’m probably going to end up in a pile with Mieu and the ligers.”

Twilight growled something behind me, and Dark cracked a smile. I figured it had something to do with me using his leg as a pillow regularly.

I headed upstairs and slipped into my room, pulling off my equipment and then sitting down, mentally bracing myself for the pain that was about to come.

I slipped out of my body and started clearing out the miasma.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I had a lot more fun writing this chapter than I thought I would when I started. I got really stuck, and then... Kairi just kinda took the reins and ran with them. Therefore, this was born. And poor Jade. He, who has lived in Keterburg and knows how dangerous it is, listening to his sister and her best friends talking about sliding down a mountain on ice. I think his reaction was rather subdued, all things considered._


	42. Chapter 4.6 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11/21

_“I’m a fucking idiot...” –Zion_

* * *

**Zion’s POV**

I scowled. ‘One more complaint, Luke. One more complaint...’

“I thought they said this seal was opened.”

I stopped and looked up at the doorway. Van was right. The Daathic Seal was... still there, despite Arietta and Flick reporting that it had been open when they left. What the hell...?

Sync!

I scowled. “Damn replica... He’s figured out how to put a timer on it. I knew it was a bad idea telling Arietta she could use Sync for this...” I grumbled, stepping up and raising my arms. I could do this too, but...

I focused on the seal, carefully unlocking it level by level, and then lowered my arms. Dull pain stabbed through my veins, and I quietly continued to curse the replica. Van frowned.

“Sync shouldn’t have been able to open the seal at all. That he could do so and put a timer on it...”

I crossed my arms. “I’ll bet Kairi has something to do with it,” I muttered. Then I sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Van nodded, stepping through into the passage ring. Luke followed, and I took a moment to wonder, once again, where Van had found the coat the redhead now wore.

“Zion.”

I jogged to catch up to the others. I didn’t really want to be here, but Van wasn’t giving me a choice. So I might as well just suck it up and get over it. I’d made the mistake of agreeing to work with Van, so unless I wanted to lose my control over him and his underlings, I’d have to deal with it.

For now. If we were right about Kairi’s abilities, these fools would eventually be useless, and our chance of using Kairi would be lost. Of course, it would help if she would stop slipping out of our hands.

It still baffled me. Star had said her knee refused to heal, and had said it wouldn’t be necessary to continue drugging her, so how had she managed to outrun Danté just a couple of weeks after waking up? And what about the more recent escapes? Flick had said that Asch had slipped up and called her Kairi rather than Mirage just before they left. So when had she remembered? I wasn’t totally sure, though I suspected Star might know.

Star... Was that it? Was she helping her? But why would she betray us like that? It made no sense. If it were Flick or Seth, then it might seem a little less ridiculous, but...

Flick!

Flick had gone to Kairi just before being deployed as a God-General. She had been with Kairi when she and Asch left the God-Generals behind. Was _she_ the traitor?

Or were my suspicions just the result of an overly-paranoid mind? After all, Kairi should have been in that side-tunnel when that griffin and I went to get her, but she wasn’t. Flick was in Grand Chokmah, a very long way from Akzeriuth. And Star had been with her.

I noted absently that we had reached the passage ring before I went back to my thoughts.

There was obviously more going on than I was aware of. But what? I couldn’t risk sending Danté, he’d get pissed off by his replica, his replica would snap back... No, that would be a very bad idea. Flick had obligations to the God-Generals, Ryndor had work to do in order to continue bringing in money for our cause, and Rhunön? Hah! Jade would gut her for her replica research the moment he found out about it.

Star was out of the question, especially with not one, but two of my replicas travelling in that group. Which left... myself, and Seth.

I frowned as I thought about that. Kairi would never let me near her, not after I’d tried to kill Sync. And even though I was sure I could cut my hair and change my clothes, I doubt I’d be able to fool her into thinking I was him. Or the Fon Master, for that matter.

Which left Seth. Hmm...

*Good afternoon, er... Actually, isn’t it morning where you are?*

I blinked a few times, choking back the laughter that wanted to bubble up when I realized that it was the very girl I’d been thinking about who was now speaking to us... telepathically, just as Luke had said she could. So, she was nearby? No... The diagram above showed two active passage rings. So, she must be piggy-backing on the connections between them.

*Wait... Who’s finding this funny?*

I couldn’t help but let loose a chuckle at Van’s tone of voice. A faint feeling of pride seemed to slip through the connection, leaving me confused.

*I thought you said you could break the connection!* Luke grumbled at me. I shrugged, thinking that over quickly.

*Why bother? We’re not doing anything she isn’t already aware of. In case you didn’t notice, the Mt. Roneal sephiroth was already lit up when we arrived,* I said, bending the truth a bit at the end. I wasn’t sure if we’d gotten to the passage ring first or if Kairi had. Either way... *Besides, listening to you two is so amusing.*

Faintly disturbed amusement trickled along from Kairi’s end, while Van’s irritation practically slapped me in the face. *I’m surprised you haven’t let Asch and Sync in on this yet. Seeing as you survived Akzeriuth, I figure they likely did as well.*

I didn’t miss the flash of anger from the redhead next to me, nor did I fail to notice the amusement that was once again trickling from Kairi’s end. *Ask Mohs about his failed attempt at an execution, would you? And remind me again why I need to stay away from Daath...*

I raised an eyebrow. Stay away from Daath...? Execution? Wait...

“Didn’t Mohs say something about declaring Asch and Sync traitors, to be executed if they were ever caught in Daath?” Luke asked. I nodded.

“That’s probably what she’s referring to.”

“That, and her horrible track record with Daath...”

“Care to explain that half to me?”

“You’re the one that’s been stalking her for almost a year, figure it out yourself!”

“Enough, you two,” Van grumbled.

*Well, if you gentle... er... Scratch that one. If you boys will excuse me...*

I rolled my eyes as Kairi’s presence, and the other two minds nearby, disappeared from my mind. She’d been about to call us ‘gentlemen’ and had cut off... Well, not that I could blame her. It’s not like...

I froze, and then chuckled a bit. “I’m a fucking idiot...”

Van looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

I sighed, shaking my head. “I made an amateur mistake. I assumed.”

“Assumed what?” Luke wondered. I gestured at the passage ring, then at Van.

“Van is absorbing mass amounts of contaminated seventh fonons every time he uses one of these passage rings. He knew this would happen when we started. Kairi’s been doing this for months, meaning she’s also collecting up the miasma. However, up until her little stint with the God-Generals, she wasn’t taking any sort of pain medication.”

“She is now.”

“That’s beside the point. I had assumed that she didn’t know about what was causing it. Therefore, I had every intention of allowing her to build up the miasma in her body, which would weaken her, and then I’d offer to remove it in exchange for her cooperation. I assumed that she wouldn’t find the source... or a way to remove it on her own. I _assumed_ , Luke, that she wasn’t bright enough to figure it out. And now I’m laughing at myself, because if she ever found out, she’d be laughing at me too.”

Van sighed. “Congratulations. She’s not an idiot. I figured that out the minute she started asking me where Reighn was.”

I groaned. “And when was this?”

“Right before I gave her amnesia... if she ever had it in the first place.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that she actually had amnesia... I just want to know when, exactly, her memory came back,” I said. “Well, enough of that. We’ve already done the two that should have been opened already. Where to next?”

Van frowned. “The Meggiora Highlands. If they’re in Keterburg, and were in Daath before, then it’s most likely they’re headed for Grand Chokmah. The Meggiora Highlands are in the opposite direction, and I’m not up to a fight with her right now.”

I nodded. “Alright... But I’m going to need to send a letter off as soon as possible.”

“Why?” Luke wondered.

I shrugged. “Kimlasca and Malkuth are close to war. Grand Chokmah turns into a fortress during wartime, and I have no doubt they’ve sealed off the port already. They’ll have no choice but to go by land. I’m going to have Seth, Star, and Largo ambush them in the Theor Forest. Well, actually, I’m going to have Star and Largo ambush them.”

Van smirked. “You’re planting Seth as an informant.”

I nodded. “If I’m completely right about Kairi, then I need to know just how much she knows. Seth is really the only option... Assuming Jade doesn’t murder him. And then I’m screwed, because Flick is busy.”

“Sucks to be you right now...”

I resisted the urge to reach over and knock Luke upside the head.

“Luke...”

I shrugged. “It’s the truth, sadly. So, stop in Chesedonia, and then catch a ferry to Sheridan, since we’ve lost communication with Arietta?”

Van nodded. “Yes, let’s—ack!” Luke’s eyes widened as Van’s sentence devolved into a coughing fit. Now that I thought about it, Kairi did look like she was forcing back a cough the one time I’d watched her after operating a sephiroth. I crossed my arms. So, this was probably part of the symptoms.

If only she hadn’t had the medics onboard the Tartarus clean up her medical records. “We should stop in Belkend after the Meggiora Highland. We’re going to have to keep tabs on the miasma,” I stated. Van nodded, while Luke looked back and forth between us worriedly.

“Zion, you said you could remove the miasma, right?”

I sighed. Of course the redhead would catch onto that. “Not without doing more harm than good at the moment. It would slow us down way too much.”

Luke scowled. “Then is there some way we could spread the miasma out between the three of us?”

“Luke, that’s a foolish idea,” Van started.

“No! Listen!” Luke argued. “Kairi said something in the abandoned factory about her liver and kidney, and I thought Asch said something about her lungs later. If we have to move fast, then I really think we should spread out the miasma so we can minimize the damage.”

“Luke.”

“No, Van. He’s right,” I interrupted. “There’s only so much damage the miasma can do in the time we plan to take to deal with the sephiroth... We’d have to teach Luke a little about programming, but splitting the load like this really would be the best course of action.”

Van crossed his arms. “There are eight sephiroth. It’s not going to be an even split.”

“The Absorption and Radiation Gates will likely emit more seventh fonons than the other six. If that’s the case, you and I will each take one. But Luke... Your replica body may not stand up to the strain as well as Van’s or mine. You’ll only take two.”

“This is the second one Master Van’s had to do.”

“You can take Meggiora Highlands.”

“I note how I’m getting very little say in this all of a sudden,” Van commented. I chuckled.

“That’s what happens when you drag around your former superior and an impressionable replica.” Van rolled his eyes and strode past us, heading back up to the Zao Ruins. Despite the heat in the desert and the ruins, the sephiroth itself was a haven... “Hey, we’ve been walking all night. Any chance we could take a break while we’re still down here?”

Van glanced back at me, then at Luke, before sighing. “Alright. We’ll stay down here until it’s dark outside. Luke, why don’t we work a little more on your footing while Zion sets up camp?”

I crossed my arms. “You know, if it’s his footing he’s having problems with, I’d probably do him more good than you would. Besides, you need to rest.”

Luke nodded. The moment I’d said Van needed to rest, he had sided with me, even though I knew he’d rather learn from Van. The man in question rolled his eyes and held out his hand, and I handed over my wing pack. He’d been too lazy to bother packing up everything for camping in his own, and we’d pretty much kidnapped Luke, so I’d ended up carrying everything.

Once Van had started setting up our camp, I pulled Luke off to the side and we started sparring.

Van had never originally intended to use the replica Luke as anything other than a scapegoat. He had needed the original Luke, Asch. He hadn’t bothered to push Luke the way he had Asch. He hadn’t raised Luke to be as strong as Asch.

We were desperately trying to correct that mistake now. It was obvious that Asch had lost all faith in Van and would never consent to be used for his hyperresonance. He would never help Van, even if Kairi were to die. So we had to settle for Luke.

Luke, who wanted nothing more than to be acknowledged as an equal. Luke, who wanted companions who were not servants or politicians. Luke... who I had every intention of turning against not only Van, but Kairi and Asch.

“Who are you?!”

I looked up and crossed my arms, more to hide my shock than anything else. “Rhunön. You’re supposed to be in the Northern Forest,” I said slowly.

Hawk-like eyes landed on me, and the woman smirked. “Of course I am. But I was bored. So I’ve got A009 watching over things while I’m bothering you.”

I couldn’t help it. I face-palmed.

Luke and Van stared at me, probably surprised that I would use such an immature method of showing my displeasure. Of course. Things couldn’t just be simple, could they?

“Go bother your brother.”

“He’s after a target.”

“Then find Danté.”

“He’s also after a target.”

“Seth?”

“I think he’s bothering Flick. Or making out with her. You know, with those two, I’m never quite sure.”

I groaned. “Go away.”

“Hmm... Nah.”

Van chuckled, and I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Luke, ignore her,” I ordered, spinning my scythe around and praying that Rhunön would just go away.

It was unlikely, but I could be optimistic once in a while.

Wait!

I blocked Luke’s incoming strike, then shoved him away. “Hang on.” Luke stopped and looked at me curiously, while I turned to Rhunön, a small smirk forming on my face.

“What’s the next K designation?”

“K013. Why?”

I chuckled and waved Rhunön over to chat.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Heh, heh... Sorry, Zion. One of those plans isn’t going to work out quite the way you want it to. Still... It’s amusing to watch Zion lose his cool. Rhunön drives him up a wall._


	43. Chapter 4.7 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/21

_“You don’t want to know. Just help me talk her out of it.” –Sync_

_“The other witness has spoken. Sync is being a drama queen.” –Dark_

* * *

 

I sighed and flopped down on the ground, closing my eyes. “Wake me up when you get back,” I muttered as Jade started to walk away. He sighed a bit, but went anyways. Contrary to what I’d said aloud, however, I was actually slipping out of my body to check on something.

I’d found, with some interest, that use of my fonslots aggravated the contaminated seventh fonons inside my body. A little reverse-engineering of what I’d done with Flick’s fonslots and some water Energies thrown in, and I was spitting out clean seventh fonons every time I used my fonslots. Of course, this still left the miasma inside my body, but without the seventh fonons, it was much, much less painful to clear it out.

Since we’d fought a few times on the way here, I figured there would be a bit more loose miasma floating about in my body, so I was going to pull it out.

Once it was gone, however...

“Hey, anybody willing to come with me?” I asked, standing up. Tear’s eyes widened.

“You’re not going to go into the forest, are you? They told us not to!”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m going back the other direction to try and find something. There’s definitely gonna be a hard fight if I do find it, though, just a warning.”

Asch sighed and stood. “Then I’m going with you. You’re going to need a healer.”

Dark glanced between me and Natalia, and she blinked a few times before looking thoughtful. “Make that three healers. Dark wants to go, I can tell from the way he’s acting. And I’m honestly getting sick of being coddled by everybody. I want to help, too.”

Sync smirked and flipped himself onto his feet from where he’d been laying on his back. “I’m coming, of course.”

I grinned. “Anybody else?”

Guy sighed and shook his head. “Nah. I got enough of fighting trying to get from Daath to Aramis Spring.”

Tear nodded. “You’ve got three seventh fonists with you. I’d rather stay here.”

“What are we going to tell the colonel when he comes back?” Anise asked. I frowned and dug around in my bag, pulling out an envelope and drawing the blank, folded piece of paper out of it. I’d done the folding and putting into envelopes thing one time out of utter boredom, and so far, it was actually rather handy. I scribbled down a note, then some more notes and put the paper back inside before handing it over to Tear.

“Warn him that half of that is for the emperor, would you? That’s if we don’t get back before he does, at least. Who knows? What with politics involved, we might get back before Jade does,” I said.

“Mieu... I’m staying with Tear, then.”

I looked down at where Sorylle and Mieu were having a conversation. So, Sorylle and Twilight were coming with us as well. And Mieu was staying with Tear. That was sensible. Luke was probably at Tataroo Valley or whatever.

I’ll admit it. It took us most of the rest of the day just to find what I was looking for.

“Is that... a sword?” Natalia asked, staring at it in shock. I smirked, while Sync groaned.

“No... Not again, please...”

I laughed. “What’s wrong? Didn’t enjoy fighting with me, Twilight, and Cantabile?”

Asch looked utterly confused, while Sync groaned. “That thing almost killed us!”

I shrugged. “It does tend to do that.” A shame Natalia was there, or I’d have been able to explain the Sword Dancer to Asch and Dark. “So... shall we?”

“Wait,” Dark muttered. “Why don’t you tell us what we’re up against first?”

I opened my mouth, but Sync beat me to it. “You don’t want to know. Just help me talk her out of it.” I sighed.

“Sync... If we leave it here now, the chances of finding it again later are almost nonexistent. Besides, Silver Clematis was worth it,” I argued. He sighed.

“Fine... But Asch is definitely staying back and acting primarily as a healer.”

Asch made a face. “That bad?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure he’s exaggerating a bit.”

“We almost died!”

“We didn’t have any healers at all.”

Twilight growled something, and Dark chuckled. “The other witness has spoken. Sync is being a drama queen.”

“I am not!”

Twilight growled at him, and I sighed. “Really, you two? Now is not the time for that.”

“Indeed,” Natalia said. “Although I still want to know how we’re supposed to fight a sword stuck in the ground...”

I sighed and walked over to Ultimatus, touching the hilt. “It won’t be a sword much longer.”

_:Four humans.:_

I frowned. “Damn. It looks like one of us is going to have to stay on the sidelines.”

“Four humans? Wait... There are five of us,” Natalia said. “And two ligers.”

I crossed my arms and looked around. Who to drop?

Sorylle growled, and Dark sighed. “If I don’t fight, Sorylle’s out too.”

I nodded, keeping that in mind as I looked around. Actually... Asch was a healer and a swordsman first and foremost. He had four fonic artes, yes, but his real value in a fight was his healing. Same with Natalia, though she had a bow. I also had a bow (mine, since we’d picked up one for Natalia in Keterburg), but focused mainly in fonic artes. I had a few extra fifth-fonon artes that I rarely, if ever, used. Dark was long-distance and a fonist as well, but he tired quickly. Sorylle was short-range, but too small still to do any reasonable damage. Sync was a short-range fighter who could get out of there quickly, even if he was rather a bit more breakable than me or Asch. And Twilight had a lot of stamina.

“Dark and Sorylle will stay back, then,” I decided, turning to the former assassin. “Just be ready to help heal us once we’re done.”

Dark nodded, apparently seeing the same thing I had.

“What? Why? Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to be excluded?” Natalia asked. Dark shook his head.

“No. With Twilight, Sync, Sorylle, and Asch to fight short-range, Kairi will resort to using her bow, which means both of us are fonists with long-range weapons. Also, Sorylle isn’t as much of an asset in a fight as the rest of us. I’m redundant, and Sorylle’s...” he trailed off, and the little liger growled something. “You’re not useless.” She growled something else, and I sighed.

“So, we’re decided?” I asked. Dark nodded, turning and stepping away from the rest of us. Sorylle followed him, and I turned back and touched Ultimatus again.

_:I have been looking forward to this.:_

Darkness erupted from the blade, and I raced away from it, Twilight and Sync placing themselves between the skeletal figure that emerged and the rest of us. Natalia stared.

“That’s not worrying at all...”

I laughed, already gathering up fonons via my fonslots. “O violent torrent! Splash!”

Asch followed up with an Eruption, while Sync and Twilight started attacking, Sync jumping back out of the way of most of the Sword Dancer’s attacks while Twilight just bowed his head and bore the brunt of them.

One long sword lashed out at Asch, who was in the middle of casting Heal, and I raced in between him and the blade, taking the hit to my leg while he healed Twilight. Then he ran past me, back out of the Sword Dancer’s range, so I could get clear as well.

Natalia used Heal on me, and I smiled gratefully as the gash on my leg fixed itself up. Then I started casting again.

A Flame Burst, Negative Gate, Flame Burst, and Splash later, Asch called out my name and lifted his clenched left fist, fingers then spread wide once he was sure I was looking. I nodded, and he started running for the Sword Dancer.

“Get clear!” I called, knowing neither Sync nor Twilight could have possibly seen the signal. Twilight nodded and started running off, his big size meaning he couldn’t get a fast start. Sync, on the other hand, stuck around long enough to finish out a combo with a Reaper’s Toll, knocking the Sword Dancer back.

It stood up, only to be knocked down again by Asch unleashing a wave of fonons. I’d hung back so as not to get hit by the shockwave, but now wasn’t the time for that. “Clear!”

Asch thrust his sword into the ground, and the world faded into an alternate reality as light gathered around us. A type of fonic glyph formed around his feet, then condensed around the Sword Dancer, a hyperresonance releasing itself violently. “Feel annihilation! Rending Saber!” He stood tall, finally drawing his sword out of the ground, only for a wave of sixth fonons to take the place of the seventh fonons.

My eyes and fingertips burned, and I resisted the urge to scream. I’d spaced out and pulled on fonons with my fonslots, even though they weren’t developed enough for this yet. Damn...

“What’s the matter?” I taunted, pushing my hands down and feeling the pressure building up under them. “Don’t want to lay down and die? How about I help you!” I lifted my hands, clapping them together and wrapping my pinky and ring fingers together. Basically, I’d formed a tiger seal from Naruto. “Shadow’s scorn!” I then pointed at the Sword Dancer. “Fae’s Ire!” A large blast of light rose around me and then shot off at the dark enemy.

Of course, the minute this was over, I remembered that I’d made the mistake of using my fonslots, and I cursed loudly as I hit one knee.

“Kairi!”

I blinked a few times, but the darkness wasn’t fading, so I growled something likely unpleasant under my breath and turned to run in a random direction.

“Whoa!”

“I can’t see!” I warned the others. “I’m going to have to do something really dangerous, but I’m useless if I don’t.”

“You over-stressed your fonslots, didn’t you?” Asch asked. I growled again in answer, slipping halfway out of my body, then dropping back in and running just as Sync called out to me. Once I was almost sure I was out of the way, I slipped half-out again.

Grateful that I could see at all, I started pulling together fonons via Energies. “O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!”

The Sword Dancer screeched at me, but I just stuck out my tongue and started gathering up more fonons, while Asch headed off to one side to cast healing artes. This time, I was going for an arte I’d been practicing, but had never had a chance to use in battle.

“Sixth fonons? I thought... Oh. Demonic Star,” I heard Natalia mumbling. I smirked.

“Not quite... O divine spear, run my enemy through! Holy Lance!”

Asch chuckled. “Well... You did say you wanted to learn Cluster Raid. I guess mastering Holy Lance first makes sense.”

“Watch out!”

Asch brought his sword up to block, but was knocked back anyway. “Thanks, Sync.”

I raised my bow and nocked an arrow, then frowned as I noted something about the Sword Dancer.

Trails of fonons and energies seemed to be running from him to... other places. One, the faintest of the... Thirty-one? Impressive... It was even connected to my arm, forming an impossible-to-breach barrier. Wait...

I let off the arrow and then switched my bow into my right hand, before raising my left arm.

Silver Clematis would not form.

So, no using its own weapons against it, eh? I shrugged it off and went back to shooting it.

That’s when I noticed that Sync’s fonslots were brimming with backed-up fonons. In fact...

Sync raised his left fist, making the same signal Asch had earlier, and I slipped back onto the first plane fully before forming a strong telepathic field. Pleased that I could locate the Sword Dancer like this, I started running, just in time for Sync to unleash his over limit. I managed to get into range just before I felt everything fade into a pocket dimension again.

“Did you think you could take this? Now you die!” Sync yelled, releasing the Akashic Torment on the Sword Dancer.

This time, I didn’t even get a chance to drop Sorcerer’s Rage on it.

The pocket dimension faded completely, the fonons I’d been gathering dispersing on their own. I scowled and slipped halfway onto the second plane again so I could watch as black tendrils of darkness faded away from the Sword Dancer.

_:You are powerful... Truly worthy opponents...:_

The Sword Dancer finally disappeared, leaving behind a familiar staff stuck in the ground, as well as a set of knives. _:Until we next meet...:_

I crossed my arms. “Well then. That was... Not exactly expected.”

“Are you guys alright?! I saw Kairi go down after Asch’s Mystic Arte. What happened?” Dark asked as he and Sorylle raced over. “Kairi?!”

I frowned. I know what he saw. By now, my cornea was probably extremely red.

“Here...” Asch muttered, casting one of the fonic artes we’d written off as useless before. It was actually meant for situations like this. “Give me your hands, you’ve got blood gathering under your fingernails too.”

I looked down at my hands, then presented them to him so he could continue what he was doing.

“I’m suddenly very glad I decided to remember this arte after all,” I heard him mumble.

“Are you going to be okay?” Natalia asked. Asch nodded.

“She’ll be fine... Does anyone have a strip of cloth we can put over her eyes? I don’t want to risk her stressing her eyes any more than necessary.”

Dark shook his head. “Nope. Sorry.”

“Here,” Natalia said, drawing out one of her wider, but elastic headbands. “Would this work?” Asch took it and tested the elasticity before nodding and placing it over my eyes. I frowned and adjusted it a bit for comfort, then looked back down at the weapons.

“The knives are obviously for Sync. But we should take that staff back to Anise.”

“How can you still see?!” Dark asked, shocked. I giggled.

“I can move around with my spirit halfway on the second plane. I’m relying on that to see. However, it’s dangerous in battle, because I can’t move very fast or I risk leaving my body behind altogether, something that could be fatal,” I explained.

Sync picked up the knives, and his eyes widened. “Kairi... Didn’t you say Silver Clematis was really light despite its length?”

I frowned, then held my hand out. He carefully placed one of the knives in my hand so I could examine it. The entire thing was black, hilt and blade both, and it was very lightweight. In fact, the only color was from the red tips of the pointed hand guard. “More Ancient Ispanian,” I noted, pointing to the blade.

“Black Rose,” Asch translated.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _There’s actually 32 weapons attached to the Sword Dancer. Kairi just can’t see that string because, well... It_ is _carrying Ultimatus on its back, after all. And no, they won’t get all 32 weapons. Only 15 of them, over five Sword Dancers. Which means that yes, there will be two extra Sword Dancer battles. Both are actually very important for character development... Although you’re all going to want to kill Dark for the stunt he pulls at the third Sword Dancer._


	44. Chapter 4.8 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13/21

_“Funny. Your replica got damn good at it.” –Dark_

* * *

 

 “So, you’re telling me that you left to go fight something ridiculously strong just because it has a habit of dropping weapons?” This was the comment Guy made after our party returned to the group and I handed Anise the Genius Wand. That action had led to revealing the Black Rose knives and I’d explained where I’d gotten Silver Clematis finally. Hence, Guy’s incredulous question.

“Yup.”

“Wow... This thing’s actually really nice,” Anise admitted, twirling it in her hand. “It feels like it’s a really good magic amplifier. But... Why give it to me instead of Tear?”

I shrugged. “Because I wasn’t sure if she’d want it or not. Besides, she’s a healer. Asch told that magic amplifiers don’t work as well with seventh fonons. It’d be more efficient to give it to you.”

Anise nodded. “That makes sense.”

“So, Jade hasn’t come back yet, huh?” Dark asked. Tear shook her head.

“No. I’m honestly starting to worry a bit,” she admitted. “It’s been almost twenty-four hours now.” I crossed my arms. That was odd. I’d have thought by this point that Jade would either have returned or the Oracle Knights would have attacked.

“Wait. That sounds like fighting.” All eyes turned to Dark, who was staring at the hill that led to Theor Forest.

“I don’t hear anything,” Natalia said. I frowned and nudged Twilight, who growled in confirmation.

“Our ears aren’t attuned to it. But there is fighting. We should make sure no one’s hurt,” I said. The others nodded, and we headed up the hill.

“By the way... Why are you wearing one of Natalia’s headbands as a blindfold?” Guy asked. I cringed.

“I over-stressed my fonslots. See?” I held up my hands, showing that my nails were dark with the blood pooled beneath them. Guy made a face.

“Ouch...”

I shrugged. “I don’t really feel it at this point. Whoa... Seth?”

“Who?” Asch wondered. Then we reached the top of the hill.

“Gyah!”

Sync raced into action before I even had to say anything, Asch, Tear, and Natalia all prepping healing artes. It was no wonder. Seth was on one knee, trying to keep the gash in his side from bleeding too heavily, Jade behind him on the ground.

“Jade’s alive, but barely,” I said quickly. “Seth really needs help, he’s lost a lot of blood. The two Malkuth soldiers are already dead.” Sync kicked one of the three Oracle Knights away, then Reaper’s Toll’ed the next.

“Times like these, I love having you on the second plane. Heal!” Asch said, sending his arte to Jade. Natalia’s Heal went to Seth, and Tear made a Healing Circle under the two of them while Sync stabbed one of the Oracle Knights with a Black Rose knife and turned to another.

Before he had even finished off the other two, the one he’d stabbed dropped dead. I walked over and knelt, tentatively poking around the wound with Energies while Sync retrieved the knife. “It’s the same poison that’s on Silver Clematis.”

Sync frowned, probably about to say something, when Anise gasped. “You’re—!”

Seth let his head drop, and I stood up. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Seth Balfour. Seth... Anise Tatlin, Tear Grants, Dark Daemione, Natalia Lanvaldear, Twilight, Sorylle, Mieu on her back, Sync Osborne, Asch fon Fabre, Ion, and Guy Cecil. Gods, that was a long list.”

Seth stared at me, then chuckled. “Nice to meet everyone.”

Anise’s eyes were wide. “B-but... You look just like the Colonel! Except... Without the glasses... And your eyes are brown...”

Seth sighed. “I... I’m a replica of him. Born twenty years after the replica data was taken.”

“Before he planted that fonic glyph in his eyes,” Asch added, crossing his arms. Seth nodded, then turned to look at Jade, kneeling again and checking his pulse.

“He’ll be fine,” I said, walking over and maneuvering my older brother onto my back. I was already limited in speed, so I might as well make that limitation a bit more physical.

“Are you sure you want to carry him? I can do it. And... Why do you have a blindfold?” Seth asked. I sighed.

“I over-stressed my fonslots, so I’m using a special method to see. Unfortunately, it means I have to move at a slower speed than I’m used to. Carrying Jade will forcibly slow me down... Besides, he’s only a few pounds heavier than Asch. Which is actually not a good thing, given the height difference,” I said. “So, walking?”

Tear looked uncomfortable. “Yes. If the Oracle Knights are attacking here, then they may be further into the forest as well. But with Jade unconscious, should we really just go in?”

Seth frowned. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for the Malkuth soldiers to see us. Especially since I’m with you guys. Someone might make the wrong assumption.”

“Right,” Asch muttered. “Hide-and-seek... I always hated that game...”

Dark chuckled. “Funny. Your replica got damn good at it.”

Natalia sighed. “Only because _not_ evading you meant getting dragged to his lessons whether he liked it or not.”

I sighed. “Guys. Walking?”

“Right, let’s go,” Dark prompted, heading further into the forest.

Our little game of hide-and-seek was definitely... interesting. Sync, with his green hair, coat, and dark pants could blend right in, while Ion’s white outfit stood out like a sore thumb. Asch’s hair and poor attempts at stealth weren’t very helpful either. Guy’s orange vest also attracted attention, as did Anise’s pink clothing.

In the end, we split up into three groups. Seth, Tear and Mieu, and me and Jade were in one group. Asch, Dark and Sorylle, and Natalia made a second group, while Sync, Ion, Anise, and Guy were the third. Twilight was trailing behind the rest of us.

Sync, Seth, and Dark would sneak up on the soldiers and draw their attention away from the path the rest of the group would be taking before slinking back to them and starting the process over. Asch, Anise, and I would always be the first sent along the path, due to the fact that we’d be caught easiest. Then the less conspicuous members of our groups would catch up.

By the time we reached the area where Largo and Sync ambush you in the game, I was quite tired, and happily laid my brother on the ground. Then I pulled Natalia’s now-ruined headband off and started wiping my eyes carefully.

See, at some point over the course of the morning, I’d started crying... tears of blood. That had soaked into the blue cloth acting as a blindfold.

I blinked my eyes open, and stared in shock as I realized that I had a bit of double-vision... something that I was used to seeing when I was half-on half-off the second plane.

I slipped fully into my body and looked around, amazed. Asch had said my vision likely wouldn’t return for a few days yet, and that the chances of me having to get glasses to fix my vision would be high.

Except, my vision seemed even better than before, and it had only been about eighteen hours.

Then it hit me.

Seventh fonons are used in healing artes.

I sat down and closed my eyes again, fully stepping out onto the second plane to look at my eyes. Sure enough, my fonslots were in perfect condition, and while there were still red tears seeping out, it was just from where my body was cleansing itself.

But, that meant that there was a lot of miasma running rampant around in my system. So I drew together the water Energies I’d need and started cleaning that out. I took the time to check out the general levels of miasma in my body, too. There was still a lot to clean out, but at least now it was going along a lot easier. In fact, by the time I had to operate a passage ring again, I’d probably have no difficulty with it at all.

“Hey. The other group isn’t here yet?” Asch asked as he walked up. Seth shook his head.

“No. But... Sorry, Natalia. I don’t think you’ll be getting that headband back.”

The blonde looked down at the blue cloth in my hands, and gasped. “Is that... blood?!”

I dropped back into my body and nodded. “Yeah.” I stood up and turned around, blinking as the light threatened to blind me. “It’s natural, though. My body’s just clearing away the dead cells.”

Asch crossed his arms, looking baffled. “You can see again, can’t you?” I nodded. “How is that even possible...?”

I chuckled. “Ah... I’ll tell you later. It’s got to do with the miasma.”

If it was possible, Asch looked even more baffled than I’d ever seen him. Then he sighed and shook his head. “Whatever. Shouldn’t the others be here by now?”

Seth looked up at the sky. “They took the far-right path... It’s probably a farther distance.”

“You seem to be assuming they’re still alive.”

The familiar voice made my eyes widen. How had I not seen...? There!

I noted that Natalia had her bow out, and I pointed. An arrow flew through the air, Star dropping down from the tree before it could hit her. A shockwave blasted me, Asch, and Dark away from the rest of them, Largo then stepping into that space. I scowled, drawing fonons around me, ready to cast in a moment’s notice if I had to.

“Largo, Star.”

Star crossed her arms, glaring openly at Seth. “You said—“

“I’ve said a lot of things since Rhunön created me. I’d think by now it would be obvious I don’t always do them.”

The girl sniffed, obviously irritated. “Fine. More work for me, but so what?”

She reached into a pouch and drew out a wing pack, summoning her puppets from it quietly, while Largo settled into an offensive stance. I sighed and pulled my sword out again. Seth was a fonist, Asch was, primarily, a swordsman/healer, Natalia was an archer/healer, Jade was unconscious still, Tear was a healer, and Dark was long-range. Sorylle wouldn’t be a lot of use, still.

We needed someone else to fight short-range, and we’d sent Guy and Sync off in another direction, while Twilight was still behind us in the forest somewhere, assuming the Malkuth soldiers hadn’t spotted him.

I frowned a moment and glanced down at my sword. I had it in my right hand because that’s where it had been resting before... What if...?

I shook my head and banished it before summoning Silver Clematis and charging at Largo. He’d been distracted by Sorylle while I was being my usual, indecisive self. Dark was already prepping an arte, Witches’ Circle if the fifth fonons were any indication, while Asch glanced at me, making a hand signal. I frowned, but made a signal that meant ‘wait a moment.’ After unleashing a series of attacks on the largest God-General and then using a Raging Blast to attempt to stagger him a bit, I turned and raced out of the way.

Then I started rummaging around in my bag, checking for Life Bottles and gels.

“Four and six,” I called out loud, since Asch was attacking Largo to keep him off of me. Asch nodded, then, rather than running out of Largo’s range to avoid the counterattack, braced himself.

“Blazing Talon!”

Asch grunted, then turned and raced back toward me, settling into a casting stance while I raced in to keep Largo away from him.

“Let’s try something new instead! Devil’s Wing!”

I blinked back the shock of seeing a black version of Archangel’s Wing. Then again, didn’t Dark say it took way too much out of him? So, that explained the first fonon version.

I let off a Havoc Strike and then turned to hightail it out of there, just in time for Asch to finish healing himself. We switched out like this regularly, until Asch flashed another signal. I nodded and raced forward, already collecting up sixth fonons.

This time, using this through my fonslots wasn’t going to do the damage it did before, because I’d finally jumped that hoop.

Asch jumped back a bit, glanced at me, then ran at Largo. I paused and braced myself, and Asch let out the shockwave he’d been holding back. Then he stuck his sword in the ground.

“Feel annihilation! Rending Saber!”

The sixth fonons I’d been gathering rushed into place without a complaint. “What’s the matter? Don’t want to lay down and die?” I grinned. Now that it wasn’t burning me to do so, this felt really great. “How about I help you! Shadow’s scorn!” I pointed at Largo, feeling the sixth fonons welling up around me. “Fae’s Ire!”

Largo grunted as the blast of light struck him head-on, and I turned and ran back out of the way for a moment, glancing around. Asch was casting, Dark was casting, and Sorylle was panting at Dark’s feet. I looked over at the others. They seemed to be holding their own against Star, and Twilight had joined in at some point.

It looked, to me, like Natalia was spending more time acting offensively than as a healer, since Seth was also a seventh fonist. He and Tear were staying back, alternating between casting Healing Circle and an offensive arte. Éclair de Larmes in Tear’s case, Eruption or Negative Blade in Seth’s. I smiled a bit at the level of cooperation shown as they fought Star’s puppets, then turned back to Largo and ran at him.

“Witches’ Circle!”

I paused to let the arte die out, then went back to attacking Largo myself. Slash, slash, stab, Havoc Strike. Slash, slash, stab, Raging Blast. Slash, slash, stab, Havoc Strike. Oh, hey Asch. Slash, slash, stab, Guardian Field. And so on.

Asch retreated for a few moments to let loose an Icicle Rain. Largo, now very, very angry, I’m sure, swung his scythe around and hit me, hard, on my right side. I hissed, and Asch ran in, making two hand signals. One for me, a signal to get back and cast, and one for Dark, a request for a healing arte. I just nodded and jumped up, heading away from Largo and settling down to cast.

“O violent torrent! Splash!” I frowned as Largo knocked Asch back to where Dark, Sorylle and I were before running after us. And Dark was still casting, he couldn’t move without interrupting the arte.

“O divine ring of purity and grace! Halo!”

And that was when I found a definite negative to what I’d done to my fonslots.

Light enveloped me, then expanded rapidly, and Dark, Asch, Sorylle, and I cried out in surprise, Largo grunting when the light hit him, too.

“A hyperresonance?!” Dark mumbled.

“Damn!” Asch cursed, and I felt the fonons start to come under some semblance of control. Not enough, and not fast enough, however.

“Asch! Dark! Kairi!”

And then we were gone.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Asch really is just 13 pounds lighter than Jade. Jade mentions at some point during the game (probably one of the cooking skits) that he’s underweight._


	45. Chapter 4.9 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14/21

_“And you’re blind.” –Ari_

_And then I tripped over Anise. –Jade_

* * *

**Jade’s POV**

There are very few things that worry me. Not to say I can’t be worried. Some of the things my sister gets into certainly are cause for concern. But, aside from her, fomicry, and war, there aren’t a lot of things that can shake me.

Waking up knowing full well that I should be dead is one of those things. Especially when it happens when I’m not hardened against the harsh realities of war. It usually means I’ve done something stupid. Except, I can’t figure out what could possibly have caused this particular episode.

I remembered speaking with Emperor Peony, getting clearance for Kairi and the others to come into Grand Chokmah. I remembered him saying something about needing more than one witness to Reighn’s innocence before he could released the former God-General. So I’d gone back to personally escort my sister and her ( _our_ , the more rebellious part of my mind corrected) friends to the city.

That was where things had gone wrong, I was sure. I’d met with the two Malkuth soldiers at the southern edge of the Theor Forest. I’d shown them the passes I’d filched from the military base.

Then what? The aching of my bandage-bound torso told me I must have been in a fight. Given that most of the wounds were on my back, I’d been attacked from behind. An ambush? But why me? And who had attacked?

“Oh good, you’re finally awake.”

I looked up and almost thought I’d never woken up at all. I thought I’d fallen into a nightmare, one that I hadn’t had in years.

Standing over me was... myself.

Except, unlike in the old nightmares, this echo of me wasn’t exactly the same. There was no fonic glyph in his eyes, dying them forever crimson. No glasses inscribed with a fonic arte to control aforementioned glyph. And he was younger than me, by at least a decade, probably closer to two.

The echo leaned over me, one hand glowing green. A familiar feeling of gentle prodding followed over me where his hands moved. Scan? But that’s—!

The glow faded, and the replica—for he couldn’t be anything else—started muttering an all-too-familiar verse. “Come forth, o illumination of life!”

I could do nothing but stare.

This was impossible. Utterly, completely impossible.

A replica of me, many years younger than I and without the fonic glyph in his eyes that nearly destroyed my fonslots as a teen, was standing over me, healing me with seventh fonons.

“Congratulations, Seth. I came here to see if he was awake so I could ask him about something and I think you might have broken him.”

I blinked and looked past the replica—Seth?—to see an amused Reighn standing by the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Seth shook his head.

“I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have been hurt in the first place.”

“Stop apologizing already,” another familiar voice grumbled. Sync stepped into the room, and I felt like I suddenly understood what he had felt so many months ago, seeing me standing in Nephry’s office. Ice water dripped into my heart as dark, cold green eyes locked on mine. Sync crossed his arms.

“You conscious enough to follow a conversation?”

I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak right now, not with an unexplainable replica of me standing nearby, and the look of utter desolation that Sync wore.

“You were attacked by Oracle Knights. I don’t know if you remembered that or not. Kairi was temporarily blind from over-stressed fonslots, so she ended up carrying you. By the time we reached the other end of the forest, we’d ended up split up. Ion, Guy, Anise and I didn’t arrive until after everything was over, but...” Sync trailed off and looked at the replica.

He sighed. “I saw the Oracle Knights sneaking around and decided to follow them. When they attacked you, I stepped in, but I’d have gotten killed myself if your friends hadn’t stepped in. Kairi, Tear and I were one group, Asch, Natalia, and Dark were another. Twilight was following us on his own. We... our two groups met up just before we were ambushed. Largo and a girl named Star attacked us, separating us again. Kairi, Asch, Dark, and Sorylle against Largo, the rest of us against Star. I... I’m not sure what happened, really. But there was a hyperresonance... All five of them were there one minute, and gone the next.”

Sync made a noise of irritation. “The Malkuth military is refusing to let us use their equipment to track the hyperresonance. They seem convinced that all of them are dead.”

Ah. That explained why he looked like he wanted someone to kill him.

Reighn crossed his arms. “Emperor Peony isn’t actually connected to the military. There’s nothing he can do. But you’ve got high enough clearance and enough connections that you could order it.”

I let my head turn so I was staring straight up at the ceiling again and then closed my eyes, trying to think everything through.

Luke and Tear had survived the hyperresonance to Tataroo Valley. Asch and Kairi had been blasted from the prison cells in Daath to Aramis Spring... although Kairi had mentioned that that was a very, very controlled hyperresonance, or it had at least started out like that, until Asch interfered.

I would have liked to think that the odds were in their favor, but still...

And then there was the question of the replica.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him... Then noticed something. I glanced at the table nearby and frowned. “Where are my glasses?”

He cringed. “They kinda got broken in all the confusion after the hyperresonance. Emperor Peony said you had spares in your office, but we haven’t been able to get in there. Sorry...”

“Do I need to start counting the number of times you apologize in a day?” Reighn muttered. The replica flinched, opening his mouth, most likely to apologize again, before catching himself and closing it.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. No reason to stress my fonslots more than necessary. “Who are you?” I asked. I heard someone take a deep breath. Probably the replica.

“My name is Seth... Kairi tagged me with the surname Balfour earlier, or Flick throws Arlynde on the end, but... I guess... you already realized I’m a replica.”

“Of me.”

“Rhunön said the replica data was twenty years old when she used it. You would have been eleven when it was taken.”

I took a moment to frown over that. Eleven? But that was around the time when... “Damn. Dist must have taken it just after we confirmed it was an applicable theory.”

“And then Rhunön started mucking around with the data... which is why I can use the seventh fonon.”

I thought over that for a few moments. So. Seth was a replica of me, created from twenty-year-old fomicry data. That would make him fifteen now. And a seventh fonist. Now that I’d cleared that up...

I sighed and opened my eyes again, sitting up carefully and noting the painful twinges in my back. I looked up at Reighn, noting with some worry that his face was becoming blurry. “I need to get my glasses first. I’ll deal with tracking the hyperresonance once I’ve gotten those. Gather up the others, have them meet me in the courtyard outside military headquarters. And one more thing... How long have I been out?”

Seth crossed his arms. “Two days. We’ve been in Grand Chokmah a little over forty hours now, and it took us almost three to get through Theor Forest without anyone noticing us.”

I nodded. Then it was probably sometime in the afternoon.

I slipped out of the bed and wandered over to the closet. “Do try to be careful? A few of the wounds got infected between us finding you and reaching Grand Chokmah, so those aren’t healing as fast. Try not to aggravate them too much.”

I glanced back at Seth, noting the concern in his eyes, and felt every ounce of anger I’d been about to direct at him vanish.

I was angry, furious, really, to find out that I had a replica. But that was no fault of Seth’s. In fact, I likely owed him my life. If I’d been taken down that easily by a surprise attack, I had no doubt that the two guards were dead.

Seth had said he’d jumped in after he saw the ambush. He’d risked his life for three men, all of whom could well have been dead by the time he had a chance to act. But he’d done it anyway... Even though one of those was his original.

The flash of discomfort that accompanied that thought made me even more uncomfortable, because it made me feel like a hypocrite.

Thinking of Asch as an original and Luke as a replica had become a habit over the course of a few months. Asch admitted it, Luke... didn’t know, but again, that was no fault of his own. Sync and Ion were replicas, though Ion was posing as the original. It didn’t bother me, anymore, thinking of them as such.

Dark was a replica of the man who had kidnapped my sister, leaving me to believe her dead. _That_ hadn’t bothered me, not since I’d initially mistaken him for Danté back in Engeve.

Now that I was one of those originals, with a replica myself... I couldn’t bring myself to be comfortable with that notion.

I pulled my coat on and started in on the buttons, trying to distract myself from both the thoughts and emotions that were threatening to break my self-control and the fact that my vision was getting worse by the minute. I had maybe ten minutes before I was completely blind. And it took many, many hours, oftentimes days, for my vision to rebound if I hit that point.

So, rather than fighting with my gloves then and there, I started walking, pulling them on as I went. Reighn, Sync, and Seth had left sometime while I was dressing, thank goodness. I didn’t think I wanted to have to explain—

Wait a second.

If Kairi had over-stressed her fonslots to the point of temporary blindness, that left me with three questions. First, when had that happened? Second, _how_ had it happened? And third... If she was blind, why the hell was she fighting Largo?

The sarcastic little voice in the back of my head that sounded an awful lot like Kairi decided then was a wonderful time to pipe up with ‘Hey, Logic! Where’ve you been? We missed you!’

I rolled my eyes and then blinked. Damn. Stairs.

I put a hand on the railing and headed down, as carefully as I could without slowing. Once I found the bottom, I moved off to the left, and bumped into something, of course.

A low, almost humor-less chuckle told me why I hadn’t seen the person standing  there. “Need some help?” Reighn asked. I growled quietly, and got a much louder, indignant growl back. Dull orange and purple floated off, further to the left. So, Twilight.

“I can maneuver myself just fine... Except for when I’m walking around in a _blue_ palace and run into a _blue_ -haired man who is also wearing a lot of _blue_.” I raised an eyebrow at the end to stress my point, and Reighn chuckled again.

“Alright... Whatever floats your boat. I’m going to go find Tear.”

I scowled and walked past the barely-distinguishable blue object that was Reighn, finding the doors quickly enough. Colors other than blue assaulted my eyes, along with, of course, more blue.

This time, avoiding the blue was a must, unless I wanted to go for a swim.

Well, at least until I made it to military headquarters.

“Colonel Curtiss! You’re awake!”

I blinked a few times and then sighed, giving up on getting my vision to clear. “Awake, and mostly blind.”

The soldier was silent for a moment before he moved to the side. “My apologies, Colonel.” I nodded and stepped forward, managing to find the handle quickly and then walking into headquarters.

Having had to deal with this before (this certainly wasn’t the first time I’d broken my glasses), I closed my eyes to let them rest and simply counted my steps.

Most people knew better than to step in my way when I had my eyes closed and was walking around headquarters without my glasses.

Then there were the idiot recruits who hadn’t learned this yet.

“Oomph!”

“Ugh!”

I huffed and opened my eyes, pulling myself back to my feet. “Oh, Colonel! I’m sorry, I didn’t think we’d... I mean...”

I sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m almost blind right now, so I had my eyes closed.”

The man apologized again and then left, while I blinked.

‘Almost blind’ was rather accurate, given that everything was getting very dark, very quickly. Damn.

I kept my eyes open and practically ran the last few yards to my office door, throwing it open and making a beeline for the desk.

Second drawer down on the left, here’s a pair, opened, and... Too late. Damn.

I huffed. Now what? I couldn’t conceivably fight like this, nor could I examine any results the hyperresonance-tracking equipment could give up.

“Someone was in a hurry.”

I almost fell to the ground laughing. Of all the days for my luck to actually cooperate... This had to be one of the best ones.

“Lieutenant Colonel Avarice Miles... You are a godsend...”

“And you’re blind.”

“My irises are almost black, aren’t they?”

“There’s also a nice little red spot in your right eye.”

I sighed. That was normal. Kairi probably had the same thing happen. “You’re not too busy right now, are you?” I asked. Ari chuckled.

“What do you need?”

“I need you to go track a hyperresonance. It would have occurred less that forty-eight hours ago, originating in northern Theor Forest. We need to know where it converged.”

“’We’ being...”

“A large group of people who will be standing in the courtyard outside. You should have high enough clearance for that, correct?”

“Yeah. You sure you don’t need me to guide you out?”

I snorted. “Lieutenant, this happens often enough that I can navigate from here to my rooms in the palace with my eyes closed. Blind shouldn’t be much different.”

Ari chuckled and left, and I stepped out of my office, making my way to the courtyard quickly. Of course, I had to stop and listen for a minute before I figured out where the others were.

And then I tripped over Anise.

“Sorry. I’m completely blind for the time being,” I said quickly. Reighn chuckled again, apparently very amused by my predicament.

Ari joined us some twenty minutes later with some rather worrisome news.

“The hyperresonance converged deep in the Meggiora Highlands.”

Sync growled, and I sighed. “Damn.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _You all have Tea to thank for most of this chapter. She thought it would be amusing to contemplate (read: bug me about) what happens if Jade doesn’t have his fonic-glyph-suppressing glasses for x amount of time. Here’s your answer. Blind Jade, stumbling over poor, 13-year-old girls. (And let’s not forget Reighn, who blends right into Grand Chokmah’s palace.)_


	46. Chapter 4.10 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15/21

_“Oops? My brain feels like it’s been turned into pudding and all you have to say for yourself is ‘oops’?” –Dark_

_*_ _Right. I’ll tell Reighn to stop teasing Jade and start packing.* –Sync_

* * *

 

I groaned. “Tell the asshole with the sledgehammer to lay off, will ya?” I grumbled.

A familiar chuckle reached my ears. “So lay off, will ya?”

I muttered a few not-so-polite comments and finally managed to blink my eyes open and sit up. “Where are we?” I asked, noting that wherever it was, it was dark.

“Asch claims we’re somewhere in the Meggiora Highlands.”

“And what is he doing here?”

“You ended up dragging him along with that hyperresonance as well. We’ve called a truce until we return to civilization,” Asch said. I huffed.

“Hyperresonance... How the hell did that happen? I’m not even a seventh fonist!”

“Well, you’ve done it once before.”

“Aramis Spring... Aside from you and Largo, did we drag anyone else along?”

“Dark, Sorylle, and Mieu... I guess he was standing just a little too close to the fighting,” Asch said.

“How the hell can you see in here?” Largo asked, the question obviously directed to Asch. The redhead chuckled.

“I’m cheating via one of Kairi’s favorite tricks.”

“You mean the one I was using earlier to get around blindness a la over-stressed fonslots.”

“Yup.”

“Ugh... Would you people shut up and be considerate...?”

I sighed. “It’ll pass. What happened just before the hyperresonance, does anyone remember? My memory’s all foggy.”

“You were casting a fonic arte. Splash, I think,” Largo said.

“And I’d ordered Dark to use Halo.”

And then it hit me. “Oh... Oops.”

“Oops? My brain feels like it’s been turned into pudding and all you have to say for yourself is ‘oops’?” Dark grumbled. I giggled a bit.

“Yep!”

“You’re so fucked up in the head.”

“I know.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“So?”

I heard an exasperated growl, and laughed a bit before slipping half out of my body. Again. Gosh, I’ve been doing this a lot recently. I looked around, then stood up and started moving around.

“Careful, that’s sand off to your right,” Asch warned me. I frowned.

“How long have you been awake?”

“A few hours. Largo was the next one conscious, he’s been up about an hour now.”

I nodded quietly and continued moving around, pushing Energies around me. Earth, primarily. Earth, some moon Energies, a few water Energies... Not a lot of sun, fire, or wind Energies though. Hmm... That complicated things. Wind Energies moved with the wind. A few dozen of those, and I could find us a way out. But there weren’t any. Not in the numbers I’d need if they were naturally-occurring. I wonder... There are plenty of third fonons...

I drew together as many third fonons as I could with what few sun Energies I had, then collected up the moon and earth Energies. Earth, to ground them. Earth, to stabilize... No. I let go of some of the earth Energies and collected water to replace them. Wind was wild. Wind was freedom. They needed to be grounded, yes, returned to their original form... but stabilized? No. Energies were fluid, shifting, not like fonons.

“What are you doing?” Asch asked. So, he was still half-on/half-off. He had just enough spirit Energies for that, so it impressed me that he could hold it for so long.

I sat down, pulling my Energies with me, then slipped out of my body altogether.

I’d done this once before, mutated Energies into seventh fonons. Now, I was going to try to do it in reverse.

I corralled the third fonons with a bit of difficulty, as they hated me, and started filtering the sun and moon Energies into the mix.

Then went the earth and water Energies, and I finally let a bit of one of my spirit Energies connect to the mass.

The mass twitched.

Then it exploded, tripling in size a moment before it started dispersing, the green floating away quietly, leaving behind a small mass of writhing lavender.

I didn’t have the strength to control green, poppy-seed third fonons anymore, not after that bit of magic, and I didn’t need earth Energies.

Dozens of lavender wind Energies stayed right where I wanted them to, however.

I smiled.

“Oh Lorelei... Did you just do what I think you just did?”

I let myself fall back into my body, holding onto the wind Energies carefully. “Yes... Yes I did.”

“What are you talking about? I can’t see a blasted thing!” Dark grumbled. Sorylle growled an agreement.

“Mieuuuu... I just felt a bunch of fonons go away...”

It came on slowly, and then it was there, and Asch had everyone’s attention as he laughed. “We can get out of here now...”

“Yep!”

I stood up carefully. “Asch, you don’t have a torch or anything of the like, do you?”

He shrugged, pulling off his coat. Right, he’d been in need of new clothes too. A few strips of cloth were wrapped around the end of Largo’s scythe, where the blade curved away from the handle. Those were then set ablaze, startling Largo, who had never witnessed our magic. Or, in this case, tricks.

He blinked a few times, then looked around the cavern, noting me off to one side, and Dark, Sorylle, and Mieu off to another. Asch was holding the scythe aloft, the rest of his coat still hanging from one hand.

“To the exit... Wherever it may be,” the redhead said in a poor attempt at optimism. I giggled and turned around, finally letting the wind Energies move about a bit.

A few wandered off away from the group, but most of them started moving through the cavern. Yes, Energies could go through walls, but most preferred to move _around_ them, unless there was no other solution. Wind Energies, especially. They didn’t want to risk getting caught between earth Energies. Which meant that wind Energies were great for getting out of caves.

I led the way, following nothing at all, as far as Largo knew. Dark knew about Energies, so he probably had an idea what I was doing. And Asch had watched me reverse-mutate them.

It was slow going at first. The Energies were isolated from others of their kind, and so found more solace in the bundle they formed than in the path they were revealing to us.

Then came the first breeze, and with it, another few dozen Energies. My little floating bubble doubled in size, and I urged them out. Out of the caverns, out into the open air.

They flitted about happily, back in the direction the wave of Energies had come from.

It took us maybe three hours of following the lackadaisical Energies to find the exit. At one point, they’d gotten us lost, and Largo was treated to me cursing the damn things, while Asch just laughed his ass off. That led to me cursing at Asch and almost losing sight of the damn mass of wind Energies.

Needless to say, Largo was rather disheartened to find that Asch had been right. We _had_ landed in the middle of the Meggiora Highlands. How did we know? Because you know those puzzle booths around the sephiroth in Meggiora Highlands? Yeah, we fell—and I do mean _fell_ —out of the cavern into one of those. The furthest one from the exit, if I remember correctly. And yes, Asch, Sync, and I _had_ gone through and solved each and every one of them.

And then we’d messed them up again before putting the repair-bot’s power cell back. No reason to make it easy for the next people, right? Especially since the ‘next people’ should be Van, Zion, and Luke. (Even though we’d only known it would be Van at that time.)

However, as it was dark outside, we decided it would be a wonderful idea to camp inside the puzzle booth. We put Mieu on guard duty, and told him to wake all of us up when the sun rose. I think Sorylle threatened to eat him if he fell asleep, then told him she’d carry him while he slept if he did it.

This was why I was next woken by a high, squeaky voice. While my body was all too happy to be up again... Well...

“I hate morning people...”

Dark, Largo, and I exchanged a look before we chuckled at Asch’s misfortune. The redhead then went about giving us a few rather rude nicknames, which stuck for something like half an hour before he finally quit grumbling. I shook my head.

“See? This is why I let them sleep when we’re on the road. Just because I get up at four in the morning, doesn’t mean everyone is going to see my schedule the same way I do,” I commented as we finally made it out of the puzzle booth. Asch grumbled something unintelligible, but that sounded something like ‘dumb impressionable replicas.’ Probably something to do with my sleeping schedule wearing off on Sync.

I hadn’t been looking in front of me, so imagine my surprise when I look forward and _walk through Sync._

I shiver at the horrid sensation and then turn around, watching with some, morbid fascination as Sync’s skin tries to turn about as green as his hair.

*Hi...* he says slowly. I bite my lip.

“Can we please not do that?”

*Okay... Now I know why you were throwing up that one time...*

I stepped off to one side and finally let my stomach heave. “Round Three... Once was definitely enough. Oh gods...”

Largo coughed. “Why is there a... ghost of Sync here?”

Sync blinked a few times, then sighed. *Oh well. At least you three are okay. And Sorylle... and Mieu? Whatever.*

I finally finished throwing up what little I’d taken in that morning and stood up again. “Why are you here?”

Sync crossed his arms. *Jade had the Malkuth military track the hyperresonance as close as they could. I just got lucky... or unlucky enough to land right on top of you guys. We weren’t even sure if you guys were alive.*

I nodded, making a half-hearted signal because I couldn’t be bothered to speak the request. “What have we missed? Oh, and ask Tear if she gave my note to Peony when you go back, would you?”

Sync shook his head. *You haven’t missed much. Jade’s temporarily blind because his glasses got busted in the confusion after the hyperresonance and he didn’t get the fonic glyph suppressed fast enough. The emperor is practically begging us to go to St. Binah to evacuate. Apparently the land around there is already sagging.*

I nodded and handed the canteen I’d been given back to Asch. “Shurrey Hill’s been locked down. There isn’t enough flow to keep the land afloat.”

*So... Should we go to St. Binah, or do we need to come get you first?*

I crossed my arms. “What kind of question is that?”

Sync smirked. *Right. I’ll tell Reighn to stop teasing Jade and start packing. But what about the passage ring?*

“We can deal with that later. It’s too late to stop it now.”

Sync nodded one last time, then faded out with a flash of green. I turned back to the others, noting that Largo was still staring at the space where Sync had been, while Dark and Sorylle were have a growled conversation. Asch looked uncomfortable, and he made a fist, thumb just sticking out between his ring and pinky fingers, before gesturing between the two of us. I formed a connection.

*What’s wrong?*

*Is it okay, Largo knowing about this?*

*Zion has, for someone raised in Auldrant, an extensive knowledge of Energies. Van’s going to find out one way or another.*

*What about the passage ring here in the Meggiora Highlands?*

*We can’t get in without Sync, Ion, or Zion. We’ll have to leave it for later.*

“Are we going to keep moving or are we taking a break?” Largo asked suddenly. I glanced over at him and frowned.

“It _is_ getting really hot, and my stomach simply refuses to settle now. Might as well find a ledge,” I decided. Largo nodded and immediately ambled over to the nearest shady place. Asch, Dark, the monsters and I took cover under another ledge. I tucked one leg in toward my body and pulled the other up, resting my right arm on my bad knee, though it wasn’t hurting.

Asch sat back against the rock, legs straight out in front of him as was usual. Dark had his right leg stretched out, left leg tucked up against his body, and Sorylle was flopped out with her head on his right thigh. Mieu lay sprawled on his back nearby.

“It looks like Largo’s planning on writing it off as a hallucination brought on by the heat,” Dark commented. I nodded.

“That’s a good thing for us. The more tricks up our sleeves, the better,” I said. Asch frowned.

“What about the passage rings, though? You said Van closed the valve in Shurrey Hill and the Zao Ruins. Where do you think he’ll go next?”

“Tataroo Valley?” Dark guessed. “It’s closest.”

“Or here,” I said quietly, looking up at the sky. Asch looked at me worriedly. “I mentioned something about being in Daath before going to—damn it.”

Asch sighed. “I think we were all a bit more worried about getting out alive than dealing with the passage ring.”

I groaned. “But that means we have to go back to Daath... again...”

“Continue the previous line of thought, please,” Dark said. I frowned.

“Van knew we were in Daath before Keterburg. He’s smart enough, he probably knows we’d be heading for Grand Chokmah to try to stop the war. It’s not quite the opposite direction, but it’s keeping plenty of distance between our two groups.”

Dark fiddled around with the dry dirt in front of him, and I watched as a rough map of Auldrant formed in front of me. A mark here for Daath, two more for Keterburg and Grand Chokmah, and then he made a few motions over the map, as if calculating the figures in his head.

Then he cursed. “Tataroo Valley, Mt. Roneal, Daath, Meggiora Highlands, or one of the two Gates. Those are the open passage rings, right?” I nodded.

He made an ‘x’ near Daath, then Mt. Roneal and the two Gates.

“If they have griffins, then we should hope they came here first. If no griffins, then pray they stopped at Tataroo Valley. Otherwise, you two do _not_ want to know the chances of us running into them on our way out of here.”

I cringed. “Unfortunately, I kinda do, for planning’s sake. Assuming one of the favorable conditions is fulfilled, how high is the chance of an encounter?”

“About ten percent.”

“Unfavorable?”

“Seventy-something? Probably close to eighty?”

“Ouch,” Asch muttered. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then I turned to Asch.

“Then I’m going to need to teach you a few things within the next couple of days.”

Asch gave me a look, and I sighed.

This wouldn’t be fun.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _While Kairi on the second plane walking through someone on the first plane means Kairi gets a good view of their insides, they don’t have to see hers. Unfortunately, Sync’s astral projection doesn’t work like that... It’s a two-way street. And not a pleasant one, either._


	47. Chapter 4.11 - For Want of Separate Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9/21
> 
> (Yes, this one went up out of order on accident.)

_As I’ve said before—Dist hates me in every form he takes. –Sync_

_“I hate to say it, but Dark isn’t here, so I’m going to. Two to one, you lose.” –Natalia_

* * *

**Sync’s POV**

Retching. That’s what Anise walked in on me doing just a few seconds after my eyes had snapped open again. Well, at least I’d made it to the bathroom.

“Oh, eww!”

I groaned. “This... is nothing... I pray you never... have to go through what Kairi and I just went through... Gah... And she walked into Van? Ugh...”

“What’s going on in here? Sync, was that you?” Jade, probably wondering why I was throwing up. As if I want to tell him what his sister’s insides look like. Ugh, bad thoughts. Something better... Um... Strawberry cake! Fluffy, strawberry cake with orange icing...

I took a deep breath and stood up. “Kairi is definitely alive... Urk...”

“You look like you’re about to hurl... again...?” Reighn noted. I swallowed hard and looked around. Somewhere in here there should be... ah-ha!

I grabbed the little glass, filled it up with water, and forced that down my throat. Then I looked up at him. Jade was hovering behind him. I forced myself to look anywhere but his eyes. Black, and rimmed by red, from all of the blood pooled there. It was nothing short of a nightmare to look at. I’d asked him why he wasn’t wearing a blindfold like Kairi had done, but it seemed that stress caused by the glyph couldn’t be resolved properly like that. He needed to have his eyes open.

I forced myself to think back to what Kairi had said.

“Jade, Reighn, go pack. Anise, start collecting up the others. If you find Tear, ask her what she did with the note Kairi gave her. I’m going to go talk to the emperor. We’re going to St. Binah.”

Jade frowned. “She doesn’t want us to get her, Asch, and Dark first?”

I shook my head, then remembered he couldn’t see it. “I asked something similar. She popped off with ‘what kind of a question is that?’ They’ll be fine for a month. We can’t say the same about St. Binah,” I said. Jade nodded.

“That’s logical. Alright... Although I must admit this will be the first time I’ve ever left Grand Chokmah while blind.” Reighn chuckled.

“Don’t worry. We’ve got more than enough fonists. Honestly, I’m more concerned about our lack of short-range fighters right now,” he said, gently starting to guide Jade away. Anise looked up at me and crossed her arms.

“I want to leave—“

“No,” I cut in.

“But—“

“He’s coming with us.”

“But he’s—“

“Enough, Anise,” Reighn barked, butting into what was devolving into an argument. Anise shut up immediately, even though Reighn wasn’t her superior. “I’d rather have Ion with us. If nothing else, it means we can keep both him and Sync out of Arietta’s hands. Van needs the Daathic Seals opened, after all.”

Anise sighed. “Fine.”

She turned and stomped off, while I sighed and headed out, grabbing my bag and coat. Unlike a lot of the others, I hadn’t bothered to unpack much. Call it paranoia or preparedness. Either way, it meant I had little standing between me and Emperor Peony.

“Saphir!”

Oh hell...

“Oink!”

“Gyah! Bad! Bad rappig!” I yelled, struggling to get a good grip on the damn thing’s collar. As I’ve said before—Dist hates me in every form he takes.

“I am so sorry!” a maid said as she ran over, helping me to restrain the emperor’s pet. I muttered something impolite about the rappig under my breath before picking up the things I’d dropped, finally getting a chance to pull my coat on.

“Is Emperor Peony in his rooms?” I asked. The maid nodded.

“I think he’s tucked himself away in one of the side-rooms, yes. He tends to do that when he’s working on one of his sewing projects... Odd hobby, but I can think of a lot of them that are worse,” she said. I sighed. Great. Three guesses who he’s going to give the next one to, and the first two don’t count.

“Thanks,” I muttered, walking past the maid and heading for the emperor’s quarters. I knew exactly which side-room the maid was talking about, because I’d tried hiding in there one time just to get away from the rappigs.

I managed to wade past Kairi, Jade, and Aslan, then had to hop over Gelda, who couldn’t be bothered to move. In fact, the only one who wasn’t in my way was Nephry. I then stepped into Peony’s ‘project room’.

Blue eyes shot up away from black and silver fabric to look at me, and a wide grin spread across Peony’s face. It took every ounce of my self-control to avoid stepping away right then.

“Kairi’s pretty good at this stuff,” he said. I crossed my arms, trying (and probably failing) to keep a neutral face.

“She, Asch, and Dark are in the Meggiora Highlands. We’re going to help St. Binah first, then we’re going to go get them... Assuming they don’t find some way to get here, first,” I said.

Peony nodded before looking back down at what he was doing. “Come back to get the clothes after that. I should have both outfits done by then.”

“Both?” The word slipped out before I could even stop myself.

Peony grinned again and stuck the needle in his mouth, reaching over to grab a piece of paper and waving it at me. I reluctantly took the paper, and he went back to stitching.

Scribbled on the paper was a request for clothing. Kairi had, of course, given him mostly free reign with hers, simply asking for there to be a blue flame design on some part of it. Asch’s was a bit more constraining, but from the doodles that had covered the backside, I’d say Peony had already figured out what he was doing for both of them. Well, I suppose that’s fitting. Still...

“Okay. We’ll make sure to come back...” I said before handing the paper back. I suppose that answers Kairi’s question about the note, too.

I turned and left before he could get it into his head to make me clothes, too. I hadn’t gotten the ones from York _that_ long ago. They still had plenty of wear in them.

Reighn and Jade were, of course, the first two to meet me in the courtyard. Tear was the next, followed by Guy, then Natalia, then Twilight, then Seth, surprisingly. I’d thought he was going to leave soon. Ion and Anise were last, though that was to be expected, as I’d had Anise rounding everyone up.

“We’re going to help the people in St. Binah?” Ion asked hopefully. I nodded.

“Yeah. Kairi will have my hide if we don’t,” I admitted. Ion smiled, and I forced myself to look elsewhere. What was I supposed to do about his dead Energies? Kairi hadn’t gotten a chance to explain it to me yet. And what was I supposed to tell him about it, anyway?

It didn’t take long to get everyone moving. Jade ended up on Twilight’s back, courtesy of a stubborn Reighn, and Ion insisted on walking. I didn’t argue. A little walking here and there meant he’d be able to build up his stamina.

Almost a week later, we reached St. Binah. Or at least, the outskirts of St. Binah. How did we find this out?

“Sync!”

“Eek!”

“As adorable as you two are, we don’t exactly have the time for that kind of stuff.”

Half of the people nearby laughed. The other half groaned. Selenia’s face turned red. Mine probably did too, to be honest. Selenia got up and held a hand out, helping me to my feet so I could glare up at Jade.

As nice as him being able to see again was, I’d have preferred it if he hadn’t made that kind of a comment. Well then... I put my hands on my hips and braced myself.

“Keep it up, I’ll tell Mom you wanna go on a date.”

Now it was Jade’s turn to look embarrassed, while Natalia sighed.

“I hate to say it, but Dark isn’t here, so I’m going to. Two to one, you lose.”

Jade mumbled something that I didn’t quite catch. It probably wasn’t very polite, either.

“Are you guys here to tell Papa to evacuate?” Selenia asked. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“Yes. What are you doing out here, anyway?”

“Grams told me to see if I can find some of her herbs before we go anywhere. Most of the city’s ready for an evacuation. We’ve just been waiting for the order... Though the military’s ready to face the Kimlascan army as well, if necessary,” Selenia said.

I frowned. “We’ll go deliver the order to the general. You should get back to your grandmother.”

Selenia nodded, turned, and ran off, and the rest of us followed her. The guards at the entrance to St. Binah took one glance at us and let us through. I stopped the group in the central plaza and looked around.

“Jade, you and Ion go deliver the order to Glenn. Everyone else, split up into groups of two. Selenia said they’re already preparing to evacuate, probably to Engeve. Someone needs to keep an eye out for Kimlascan soldiers or Oracle Knights.”

Jade and Ion had, thankfully, run off about halfway through the second sentence. Twilight growled something, and I sighed.

“None of us can translate for you, Twilight,” I reminded him. Again.

Twilight grumbled something irritably.

“Do these pairs need to be fighters or is a fighter and non-fighter pair alright?” Anise asked. Reighn crossed his arms.

“If you and Ion stay inside the city, making sure we don’t miss anyone, we should be fine. Twilight should stay by the gates to give us a warning. His nose and ears are good. If there are enemies coming, he’ll be the first to smell or hear them,” Reighn noted. “I’ll move around with Jade. Seth? You’re a seventh fonist, too, right?”

Seth nodded. “If we’re splitting seventh fonists up among non-seventh fonists, then Anise and Ion are going to have to split up.”

Anise pouted. “Fine. I call Reighn.”

Reighn rolled his eyes. “Fine... Seth can take Guy, then, and Ion will stick with Tear. Sync... You want to be with Natalia, or do you want to be our watch on the gate?”

I crossed my arms, forcibly ignoring the irritating sound filtering into my mind again. Why did this always happen at the most inconvenient of times? Oh well...

“I’ll stick with Twilight. I’m the fastest in the group. If we need to get help at the gates, I should be there to run the message.” Not to mention the fact that Twilight was there with me and Kairi while we were being strange people.

Reighn nodded. “Alright. Natalia, that leaves you with Jade. Get people moving, it looks like Jade and Ion are already back.”

We all nodded, Twilight and I glancing at each other before making a break for the gates, stopping outside on the opposite side of the road. Twilight sat back on his haunches, while I leaned against his shoulder and started humming. It helped to relieve the stress that the weird music kept putting on my brain.

Kairi and I had had a long talk about it on the way through Deo Pass, and she had identified all of the songs I’d learned this way. Some of the names and lyrics made me really wonder what was wrong with people in her world, but some of them really did make sense.

She’d also started explaining genres... If I was right, this one was country. I’d probably have to ask her about it later, but oh well.

Twilight growled softly, and my humming stopped immediately as I started glancing around. Ah. Jade and Natalia.

One group off, who knows how many to go.

The two stopped near us, Jade adjusting his glasses. “Nothing?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not yet at least. I’m not going to relax until the evacuation’s over.”

Natalia nodded. “That’s wise. We’re going in for the next group. Reighn and Anise should be coming out next, if Jade and Anise don’t switch,” she said before turning and heading back into the city. I watched as Jade followed along behind her before starting to hum again. It was odd... Songs didn’t usually repeat themselves over and over and over again, but it happened sometimes. Oh well. Might as well get it memorized so I can ask Kairi about it.

Another short growl, another pause in humming, and another group of refugees gone. Reighn and Anise walked back, Anise waving to me cheerfully before looking up at Reighn and, presumably, asking him a question. I crossed my arms and frowned as a slightly larger group came out. Tear motioned for Ion to stay with me and Twilight while she, Seth, and Guy took the refugees to the far edge of the forest around St. Binah.

Ion walked over and sat down next to me with a sigh, not a care in the world for his white clothing. That made me smirk a bit.

“Sync? What do you think is going to happen to the Order of Lorelei?”

I blinked a few times and looked down at Ion, who looked much younger than his physical fourteen years. I frowned and looked up at the sky. Clear and blue... Weird. Oh well. Order of Lorelei... Order of Lorelei...

“Why ask me? I’m not a God-General anymore.”

“But you know more about the real workings of the Order than I do. And with Van and the God-Generals now acting independently... What’s going to happen with the Oracle Knights?”

I shrugged. “Honestly? You should ask Asch when we pick him up, or Mom if we run into her.”

“Mom?”

I cringed. Whoops. “Cantabile adopted me,” I admitted. No reason to try to hide it now.

Ion’s smile was so genuinely happy that I wondered for a moment what was wrong with him. “That’s wonderful! It’s good to have family behind you.”

I nodded. That was true... It wasn’t something I’d expected to learn a year ago, but... It was true. “What about you?” I caught myself asking. Somehow, I couldn’t be bothered to care that I’d spoken.

“Hmm... Well... I suppose I’ve got Anise, and... Never mind.” Something struck me then, harder than it ever had before.

“You’ve got me.” I didn’t even register that I had spoken until after the words were said.

If Ion looked happy upon finding out I had adoptive family, it was nothing compared to the utter joy he wore on his face after those three words.

“Sync... thank you.”

“Ion!”

Ion stood up, brushed a bit of dust off of himself, and then raced after Tear. And as I started humming again, I couldn’t help but smile after him. Kairi was right. Being an older sibling was a pain... But it was worth it.

Twilight growled, and I spun around.

“Aerith!”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The song Sync was humming was Dust by the Eli Young Band. Yes. Randomness. –nods smartly-_


	48. Chapter 5.1 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 16/21

_“And you said you wouldn’t make a good knight.” –Selenia_

_Reighn stared at Jade like the colonel had grown a new head (as if he needed one, one brain was more than enough for him). –Selenia_

* * *

**Selenia’s POV**

I forced a smile as Grams got into the cart. Grandpa and Papa were still at the military headquarters. They’d be among the last to leave.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t get her out, though.

“You’ll come with the next group, won’t you?” Grams asked. I shook my head.

“No, Grams. I’m not leaving until Papa is.”

“But Selenia...”

“I can fight. I won’t leave him behind.”

“Your papa, or Sync?” I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as Grams laughed. “You’ll make a good girl for some boy, some day, but you’re both a bit young now, don’t you think?”

I took a deep breath. “He’s my best friend, Grams. I’m not leaving him behind. And if we ever do decide to go farther... Well. Are you going to care?”

Grams smiled, though it was really more of a smirk. “Just not too young, dear. Just not too young.”

“Next group!” the blue-haired man, Reighn, called. The wagon in front of me started moving, but before I could wave Grams off, I was lifted off my feet and deposited next to her.

I whirled around to see who the perpetrator was, and didn’t even hold back the glare I was directing at Colonel Curtiss. Damn him if he thinks I’m leaving right now!

I jumped out of the cart, dashing over the staff that I’d leaned against a nearby building and grabbing it up. “Selenia, get back in the cart!”

“Forget it!” I argued. “I’m not leaving until Papa does.” Jade made an irritated face, before grabbing me and dragging me after the carts. “No!”

“Why don’t you let the poor girl go, Jade? If she wants to die with the rest of these worms, let her.”

Two pairs of lens-covered eyes glared up at a third. Jade released his grip and stepped away, giving himself enough space to summon his spear if necessary, probably.

“I don’t recall asking your opinion,” Jade snapped back.

Flashes of blue out of the corner of my eye attracted my attention, and my eyes widened when I realized what it was. “Jade!”

Flying honey-brown hair told me that Jade had spotted it too.

Reighn had his scythe out, blade still not active, and was, it seemed, reluctantly fighting someone else. That ‘someone else’ also had blue hair, though hers was shorter and lighter. Dark blue eyes seemed to mock the man, and her clothing...

“Damn! Reighn!”

Pained silver eyes shot a glance toward us before Reighn jumped out of the way of a Turbulence. Jade moved towards them, only for a large and obnoxiously-painted robot to land in our way. I glanced around. Jade was a fonist. I’m a fonist. Reighn prefers to act as a fonist.

Where are Sync and that liger he was with when you need them?

“That fonbot is weak to water. I’ll see what I can do about getting to Reighn. It’s not fair to ask him to fight his own sister,” Jade said. I nodded and started casting. It was a good thing I’d mastered this one recently.

“O vile geyser! Spread!”

The robot went into the air, not liking the water at all, and I giggled a bit at how utterly goofy it looked before casting again. By this time, Jade had managed to position himself between Reighn and his sister... Poor guy.

I let loose one Spread after another, while Reighn set off a Crackle. A Turbulence went off underneath me, sending me flying. I curled up midair, not quite sure _what_ to do. This was going to hurt...

Arms wrapped around me, and then I heard a grunt as whoever caught me fell on his butt.

I reluctantly opened my eyes... And then grinned, happily clambering out of Sync’s arms to help him to his feet. “And you said you wouldn’t make a good knight,” I teased.

Sync’s face turned pink as I pulled him up, and then he was running off, throwing a dagger at Aerith to stop her casting. I giggled and started casting again, noting that there was a nice, solid field of fonons under where Dist’s robot had been. I ran over and pulled them in.

“Drown in the abyss, o blackened soul! Tidal Wave!”

The robot made a few really worrying noises as the water slammed into it before the ugly thing finally started falling apart. I smirked. “Down and out. Next?”

Jade huffed. “Get back inside. Sync, Twilight, Reighn, and I can handle Aerith. It looks like Dist has already run off.”

I scowled. “Forget it,” I argued, already pulling together third fonons. Jade grumbled something under his breath that didn’t sound polite in the least.

“Grant mine enemies a final rest! Flame Burst!”

I couldn’t help but smile. “O dancing wind! Air Thrust!” I paused as the winds started slicing into the girl and looked up at Jade. “Shall we go again?”

“Field of fonons?” he guessed. I just giggled, and he rolled his eyes. “Stubborn as your father.”

“It runs on both sides of the family, apparently.”

Jade dropped another Flame Burst, and then I unleashed the second Air Thrust I’d been preparing. Except, it sucked up the fifth fonons and created the illusion of feathers dancing around. “Take that! Phoenix Dance!”

Aerith screamed (well, it sounded more like a screech) and hit the ground. We all paused a moment, wondering if she was going to keep attacking or if she was going to be a smart little girl and run away.

I blinked. You know, I keep calling her a little girl, but she might actually be older than me...

Dark blue eyes glared up at the blue-haired man to my right. When he and Jade had settled in around me, I’m not sure, but oh well.

“You still don’t get it, do you, Reighn? I don’t even remember Hod, and I get it. But at least I remember Matthias. You don’t anymore, do you?”

The girl then stood, shakily, and turned, only to fall again as the ground started shaking.

“Guy! Seth!”

The four of us plus Twilight turned around, and I gasped, running forward only to be restrained by Jade. Again.

Well... I can’t really blame him this time.

“Let me go! Papa!” I slipped out of Jade’s grip and ran to the edge of the city, kneeling there to look at the town square, which was, unfortunately, a good few yards below me now. “Papa! Grandpa!”

Papa looked up at me, relief across his face. “Selenia! You’re alright. Where’s Mother?”

I took a deep breath. “Grams made it out alright.”

Grandpa nodded, and I noted that two of Jade’s companions were also stuck down there. Reighn knelt next to me.

“What now? There are too many people for Tear to use a fonic hymn,” he said, loud enough for the people below to hear. Guy looked like he’d been knocked on the head.

“Sheridan! They’re doing flight experiments in Sheridan! Go see if you can borrow whatever they’re using. You can pick up Kairi and the others too,” he said. I frowned.

“Kairi? Why is she in Sheridan? And why’s Sync here if that’s the case?” I wondered. Sync chuckled.

“Just Kairi getting into her usual amounts of trouble.” I rolled my eyes. Somehow, that didn’t surprise me in the least.

“That’s right,” Ion said as I stood and stepped away from the edge. “I remember authorizing those experiments.” Reighn nodded as well, while Jade crossed his arms.

“And what about Selenia? We can’t just take her with us.”

I growled. “Why not?”

Twilight growled something and nodded smartly, and I stared at him. The blonde girl (Natalia?) sighed. “I really wish we had Dark or Kairi here.”

Twilight made a moaning sound. Probably agreeing with her.

“We can’t take Selenia with us because she’s a civilian. Ion’s bad enough. We can put him on Twilight’s back in a pinch. I’d rather not have two people slowing us down,” Jade said. I scowled, but Sync beat me to the argument.

“She won’t slow us down. She’s a damn good fonist and she can outrun Asch any day,” he said. Tear sighed.

“We might as well bring her with us, at least until we rescue the people down there. She can rejoin the citizens of St. Binah when we get them to safety.”

Jade sighed at having lost the argument, and I smirked. “So? Let’s get going.”

Reighn helped Ion up onto his back, while Twilight and Sync moved to the front of the formation, Natalia, Anise, and Tear following them. Jade kept me back with him and Reighn. We were running, of course, which was why Reighn was carrying Ion for the time being until he got tired, since we needed Twilight up front.

“Why did you insist on staying behind instead of going with your grandmother?” Jade asked after a while, when we’d all slowed to a walk to conserve energy. I twirled my staff around a bit.

“Well... Grams is always asking me to fetch herbs and stuff from outside the city. I figure, I’m used to monsters and bandits. And Papa’s always so busy, or worried, or tired, and... I just wanted to help him...”

“You thought you could help him hold the Kimlascan soldiers off until the rest of the city was safe,” Reighn said. It wasn’t so much a guess as it was a statement.

I nodded, reluctantly. “Also... I’m tired of people treating me like I’m just some weak little girl.” I shot a pointed glare at Jade once I’d gotten that comment out. “I’m fourteen years old. I’ve been running around outside St. Binah since I was six, and I’ve been doing that just fine without supervision since I was eight. I know my limitations, I know how to counter them, and I don’t need to be reminded of them every time I step outside my house.”

“Which is why you’re dressed the way you are.”

I looked up at Reighn and blinked a few times. “Are you sure _you’re_ not telepathic?”

Reighn chuckled and reached down to mess up my hair. “You remind me a lot of me... Although I was a few years younger than you are now.”

“Are you referring to how you ended up in Fon Master Evenos’ service a full two months before you turned ten?”

Reighn stared at Jade like the colonel had grown a new head (as if he needed one, one brain was more than enough for him). “How did you...?”

“I managed to get a little research done before the Oracle Knights threw me in the dungeons. Most people in the Order don’t realize that you’re almost six months younger than they think you are. Ion said you were twenty-two back in Baticul. Your birthday isn’t for another month yet, though, is it?”

Reighn smirked, and looked at where Ion and Anise were chatting away happily ahead of us. “Five weeks. Although I must say, if Ion chooses to and then manages to circumvent Mohs and appoint Anise as the head of his Fon Master Guards before Gnome-Redecan, she’ll beat my record for youngest.”

“Assuming he places her in charge,” Jade added.

“She’s been bugging me all day about what it’s like being in charge. She seems to have appointed herself my apprentice or something of the sort. I hate to burst her bubble, but Star’s the only girl I’ve ever come close to giving that title.”

I crossed my arms. “Star? What happened to her, then?”

Reighn shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. I left the Order to care for Aerith and Matthias, because Matthias was sick. He died, Ion was replicated, Star disappeared. I never went back... officially. Van had me working for him up until he tried to have Kairi killed.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “Well, we’ll worry about that another time. Though I must admit I’m surprised you seem to think that Anise will be the next Head of the Fon Master Guardians.”

Reighn gave him a look, one I couldn’t really read. “What do you think?”

Jade didn’t answer for a while, as if he was contemplating whether to answer or not. “I think you should go back. All of Ion’s Fon Master Guardians were replaced two years ago. You know the truth. Ion knows that. And you’ve got more than thrice the experience of the rest of them. I think they need that experience now.”

I thought about that and nodded. “I agree. Besides, you’re already kinda acting the part.”

Reighn blinked a few times, then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I have been. Heh... Hard to get out of the habit of worrying over that kid. Him and Sync both, really.”

Jade nodded. “Once a soldier, always a soldier. Which... is why I’ve been trying to keep you out of this mess, Selenia. War isn’t a game.”

I took a deep breath. “You think I don’t know that? There’s a reason why Papa’s always cold around you. Mama was a soldier, too. She died in Northern Chesedonia.”

Jade almost missed a step. “What? But, military protocol—“

“Mama never changed her last name. No one knew she was married to Papa, they all just thought they were good friends, up until Mama died and the MP had to bring her ashes back to us. They saw me, and Papa admitted to having married her, but by then it was too late.”

Jade looked down at me with horror. “Second Lieutenant Maria Andres. That was your mother, wasn’t it?” I nodded, and Jade looked away, taking a deep breath.

“Jade? Is something wrong?”

The three of us looked up at where Anise, Ion, and Sync were looking back. Ion and Anise looking concerned for Jade, Sync silently asking me if I was alright, by that look.

“Tear, is it alright if we stop here for the night?” Jade called to the girl who’d switched with Sync. She looked back at him, then at the sky. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but...

“Alright. But we should leave early tomorrow morning,” she agreed.

“That’s fine,” Jade said. “But I think Selenia and I both need to stop.”

Natalia crossed her arms and gave Sync a look. “I thought you said she wouldn’t slow us down?” she whined. Sync looked ready to reach over and slap her.

“Jade just figured out who her mother is, idiot!” he said. It had rather the same effect. Natalia looked like he’d physically hit her.

“What?”

Sync walked over to me and gently pulled me away from Jade, who also stepped away from the main group. In the opposite direction, I noted. I sat down against a tree and curled up, Sync sitting right next to me. Ion ended up on my other side, while Twilight laid in front of us.

I watched as Natalia followed Jade.

“Sel?” Sync whispered.

I let my head drop into my knees, and for the first time in five years, I cried.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _“You know, I keep calling her a little girl, but she might actually be older than me...” Yes, Selenia, she is older than you. By about a year. –sighs- Even though you look a little older than her..._


	49. Chapter 5.2 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17/21

_“Don’t bother, Dark. Asch isn’t going to listen to you... Which is why I’ll deal with you when you wake up.” –Sync_

* * *

**Selenia’s POV**

I tapped the last few buttons I needed to and waited a moment. One, two... A slight bump told me we’d come to a stop. I looked up at Jade, who was finishing up the last few things he needed to complete before we could get off.

We hadn’t spoken since he realized who Mama was. More than once, Anise and Natalia had attempted to get us to talk to each other.

Sync had usually told them to fuck off. In those words exactly. Which had resulted in Reighn commenting on his language usage, and so on. Although, right now, Sync was asleep, having been on the night shift with Reighn.

“Are you two ever going to talk to each other again?” Anise asked as we all stood and started to make our way out of the bridge. Ion glanced at Sync (happily draped over Twilight’s back) then at Reighn, then at Anise, who was going on and on about all the stuff we could talk about. The Fon Master sighed.

“Anise,” he interrupted. “I’m only going to say this because Sync is asleep. Whatever happened between them is their business. Fuck off.”

Hearing those words coming from innocent Ion’s mouth almost made me bust up with giggles. Anise’s face upon this sentence, however, was what opened the floodgates. Jade chuckled a bit as well as we stepped out into Port Sheridan. Then it cut off abruptly.

“Selenia... Aren’t your grandparents in Sheridan?”

I frowned and crossed my arms, while everyone looked at Jade in shock for finally talking to me of his own will.

“But... Her grandmother should be in Engeve now, and her grandfather is still in St. Binah,” Natalia said. I shook my head.

“Those are Papa’s parents. Jade’s talking about Mama’s parents... And... No. Gramps died about a year ago. Granny moved to Baticul after he died. But they used to live here... Maybe I should go visit the graveyard.”

Jade took a deep breath. “I see.”

“I think Papa buried some of Mama’s ashes here too.”

Jade refused to look at me, and we continued on to Sheridan. Sync woke up somewhere along the way and switched places with Ion, who was starting to get tired. No one mentioned Ion’s use of Sync’s language. We had just stepped into town when Natalia frowned and looked down at me. “Who was your mother?” she asked. I frowned. She’s pretty perceptive, when she wants to be.

“Maria Andres.”

“Second Lieutenant Maria Andres,” Jade corrected. Natalia’s eyes widened.

“Doesn’t Malkuth have military regulations to keep at least one of a married couple off of the battlefield?!”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t stop female military officers of either country from simply keeping their original surnames.”

Nine pairs of eyes turned toward the young man who had spoken.

“Dark! You’re alright!” Natalia cried happily. Probably completely forgetting about my mother in the process.

The former assassin crossed his arms. “I wish I could say the same of Asch and Kairi.”

Expressions of elation suddenly fell, Sync stepping away from my side to approach Dark. “What happened? You all were fine a week ago.” Dark snorted.

“Van, Zion, and Luke. That’s what happened. They took Kairi prisoner, and Mieu must have slipped into her bag, because we can’t find him now. Largo left with them. The only reason I’m in as good a shape as I am is because I choose not to chase after them. Sorylle’s probably never going to be able to lay eggs now, no thanks to Largo, and they left Asch in critical condition. I couldn’t just leave the two of them. Asch is still comatose, though I think he’ll be waking up soon,” he said.

All of it in something just short of a monotone, and with that dead, steely expression on his face.

I’ll admit it. I was scared.

Sync clenched his fists, and I stepped forward to wrap my arms around him. I got knocked on my butt for my efforts.

“Don’t take it out on Selenia,” Reighn snapped. Sync looked down at me with an expression like a kicked puppy. I just smiled, stood back up, and hugged him again.

“They’ll be alright.”

Sync pulled in a shaky breath. “This is the second time I’ve been told that my friends have been hurt by that bastard. I didn’t take it well the first time and I’m not taking it well now.”

“You heard Dark. Asch’ll be okay. And Kairi’s good at getting out of tight spots,” I said quietly. Sync was quiet for a moment before he started to pull away a bit, and I let him go slowly.

“Thanks, Selenia.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome. Do you want to come visit Gramps and my uncles with me?”

Sync smirked. “Nah. I think I’d rather go irritate Asch awake.”

Dark ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t think it works like that, but feel free to try. Room B16 at the inn. Which reminds me... You guys aren’t just here to pick us up, are you?”

Natalia shook her head. “No. How did you...?”

“Seth and Guy.”

“Oh...”

I giggled at Natalia before sobering up. “Guy said the engineers here were working on flight experiments. We came to see if we could borrow it to save the rest of the citizens. Papa and Grandpa and a bunch of others are still stuck in St. Binah, and it’s started to sink. We can’t reach them.”

“There are too many people left for Tear to handle alone,” Jade added. Dark nodded.

“You’ll want to find Iemon then. Or Tamara and Aster. Those two might be safer. Either way, I suggest the town hall.” Dark turned and started to walk off.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Natalia asked. Dark glanced back and frowned.

“I’m going to go get Sorylle.” He continued to walk away without another word.

“Something else is wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dark act like that before,” Natalia said. “Do you think maybe something else is wrong with Asch?”

I rolled my eyes. Jeez. Asch or Dark, pick a boy, girl!

“I doubt it. We’ll likely find out later, at any rate. Why don’t we go speak with the engineers? Selenia... do you want to come with us, or...?” he trailed off. I shrugged.

“I’ll come. I want to know how long it’s gonna take us to get back to St. Binah. Visiting Gramps and my uncles can wait.”

Natalia looked over at me again. “Your uncles... Your mother’s brothers?” she guessed. I nodded. “Were they in the military too?”

I took a deep breath. “Uncle Albert, Uncle Fletcher, and Uncle Kenny were in the Kimlascan military. Uncle Emmett, Uncle George, Uncle Hugh, and Mama were in the Malkuth military. Uncle Emmett’s the only one that’s still alive.”

“And Jade knew your mother?”

“He was her commanding officer. Mama was the fourth born. Albert, Kenny, George, Mama, Hugh, Emmett, and Fletcher. That’s the order they were born in,” I said. I crossed my arms and looked away from her, refusing to cry. I hoped she would get the point already.

“Private Fletcher Andres was captured, and I... I ordered Maria to execute him, not even considering for a moment that they could be siblings. We didn’t have the resources we needed to take prisoners, so I thought I had made an extremely logical choice. And it wasn’t like it was the first time I had asked the Lieutenant to perform that duty.”

Natalia gasped. “Don’t tell me she actually—“

“No. She returned to the command tent that night, handed over her weapons, and knelt right there on the ground in front of me before stating quite plainly that she would not kill or harm that young man in any way. Insubordination during wartime is punishable by death. And again, we didn’t have the time or resources to send her to Grand Chokmah for trial.” Jade cut off here, once again refusing to meet my eyes.

Hazel eyes looked up at him with horror. Then Natalia looked at me. Then back up at Jade. “You...”

Jade closed his eyes. “I did what was expected of me as her superior officer. She knew what refusing to kill her little brother would mean for her and she did it regardless,” he said. He paused here. “I’ve been in the military for almost twenty years now. I’ve seen so much death and destruction it doesn’t even faze me. What happened with Maria Andres has always left a sour taste in my mouth. It’s even worse now, knowing I left an eight-year-old girl motherless. But there’s nothing I can do to change the past.”

I bit my lip, not even noticing when Sync wrapped an arm around me again. Mama...

“That’s what you meant.”

I looked up when Tear spoke. We stepped into the town hall quietly. “What do you mean?” Jade asked.

Tear frowned. “When we arrived in Baticul. You told Brigadier General Cecille that she taught you a painful lesson during your battle in Northern Chesedonia, even though she claimed her forces were virtually wiped out. You were referring to Lieutenant Andres.”

Jade nodded. “Yes.”

“Oh my. What’s going on here?”

We looked up, and I couldn’t help but blink a few times. “Aunt Tammy?”

The familiar woman looked down at me and smiled. “Ah, Selenia. What’s my favorite grand-niece doing in Sheridan? My sister’s in Baticul now, you know.”

I grinned and raced up the steps, running right into her arms. Well, arm. She had to drop her ruler first. “I’d forgotten you were Class M...”

Aunt Tammy laughed. “Ah, sounds like this wasn’t a social visit.”

I pulled away and shook my head. “No. St. Binah’s sinking. We need to borrow whatever you’re using for the flight experiments.”

“Blunt as a brick wall,” Sync muttered. I giggled, and Aunt Tammy laughed with me, though hers was a bit strained.

“I’d love to help, Selenia, you know I would, but...”

“But?” Jade asked.

Iemon (at least, I think it was Iemon) crossed his arms. “The Albiore crashed in the Meggiora Highlands, and with the winds blowing the way they are, it could fall at any minute. We’ve only started up one of the two hoverdrives. We can’t even get the Albiore II in the air the way things are now.”

Aster shot something reminiscent of a glare at the other man. “Iemon! That’s your grandson Ginji up there! If the Albiore falls, there’s no way he’ll survive!”

“It’s not like we can send out a rescue team! All of the soldiers are preparing for war!”

I sighed and looked up at Aunt Tammy, who seemed to be about as exasperated as I was. Then I crossed my arms.

“Most of these guys have got military experience,” I said loudly, catching the attention of the two arguing men. “Would you trust us to go get Ginji and the hoverdrive?”

Aunt Tammy picked her ruler back up. “Even if you did, all of the parts we need to finish the Albiore II are being used for landship production.”

Jade stepped forward. “We came here on a landship. If you’ll allow us to take the Albiore II, then you’re welcome to strip down the Tartarus for anything you need.”

I looked up at Aunt Tammy, who nodded. “Alright.”

Iemon turned and headed into a back room, coming back with a pair of... um... “Use these launchers to get the Albiore down safely. You’ll have to hit it from both sides at the same time.”

Reighn walked over and examined them before nodding. “Alright. Shouldn’t be too hard. Jade, do you know how to use one of these, or am I going to have to walk you through it?”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I’m familiar enough with them. Let’s get going. Ion? Why don’t you stay here and lead them to the Tartarus while we get the hoverdrive and the Albiore’s pilot?”

Ion nodded. “Alright. Good luck.”

We followed Jade as he left the hall and headed for the exit to town.

“You shouldn’t be up and moving around.”

“Kairi shouldn’t be in that bastard’s hands again.”

“You’re not going to do her any good chasing after Zion like that.”

“Don’t bother, Dark. Asch isn’t going to listen to you,” Sync said.

“Damn right I’m not.” Sync slammed his palm into Asch’s neck.

“Which is why I’ll deal with you when you wake up,” he continued, barely catching the redhead before he hit the ground. He looked up at Dark, who was smirking.

“I’ll take him back to the inn real quick. Where are you guys going?”

“Meggiora Highlands. It looks like their flying machine crashed,” Anise said.

“And you’re going to borrow it?”

“You know, when you put it like that...” Anise muttered. I giggled.

“It was probably just the Meggiora wind patterns. You can ask Arietta. Her monsters hate flying in there because the winds are so erratic,” Dark said, completely contradicting his previous assessment of the flying craft.

Jade sighed. “Are you an optimist or a pessimist?”

Dark shrugged. “Neither.

I giggled. “Well, you can’t say you didn’t look at every angle. Meet us outside the city?”

Dark nodded, Asch now slung over his back again. A young liger who was just starting to take on a sea-green hue growled, and Dark growled something back at her.

Twilight padded over the other liger and growled quietly, only to be snapped at by the girl. The silvery liger sounded dejected. The smaller let her head hang.

“Sorylle?” Natalia asked. The liger looked up at her, and Natalia opened her mouth, before closing it again and kneeling, holding her arms out.

Sorylle looked at her in surprise before running into the princess’ arms. Natalia growled something softly as she pulled away... Only for Sorylle to make a face and growl something similar.

Natalia’s face turned red and she started mimicking the liger’s growl, the two repeating it back and forth until Sorylle nodded smartly. Natalia looked embarrassed by the time she was done. They’d been at it long enough for Dark to return.

“Still standing around?”

Jade sighed. “Natalia was attempting to talk to Sorylle and must have messed something up, because the two of them just spent the last three minutes growling the same thing over and over again. Or at least, that’s what it sounded like to my ears.”

Twilight growled the exact same thing they’d been doing, then continued along. Dark blinked a few times before chuckling.

“Yeah... That’s a tricky verb.”

Natalia sighed. “We should be going. Five minutes ago.”

I grinned and turned, racing to the exit. “Well? Anybody else coming?”

The others exchanged looks, Dark and Natalia being the first to follow me, then Sync. Of course, then Jade made the mistake of speaking.

“Aw. Look at the cute couples.”

Sync, Dark, and I exchanged wicked grins before turning to Jade.

“Jade and Cantabile, sittin’ in a tree!”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I am personally quite proud of Natalia for being the only one in that group of four mature enough to NOT start singing that at Jade. Keep an eye out for this, by the way. There are only three times in this story when someone other than Dark instigates the rhyme, by the way. The first time is coming up in the next chapter, although it isn’t explicitly stated, it is heavily implied (and an utter failure). The second shows up around the end of the TotA Game Events as they go in Re:AST. The last one pops up in the very last chapter. (Anybody want to guess who the three people who do it are?)_


	50. Chapter 5.3 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18/21

_“Oh, I’m hurt. Is that all I’m good for?” –Jade_

_“Deal with it, pillow.” –Sorylle_

_“Well, that didn’t have the effect I’d hoped it would...” –Jade_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“Would you sit down?!” Jade snapped.

I dropped to the floor next to the ligers and glared at him.

Asch sighed. “He’s anxious. And he’s not the only one. We have an idea of what Van’s up to. Zion’s a wildcard, and this is the second time he’s kidnapped Kairi.”

I groaned and leaned back, Twilight suddenly becoming a pillow. Not that he seemed to mind too much. “That’s not all that’s on my mind. I’m worried...”

“About?”

I chose not to answer for a moment. “Seth and I met one time when I was trying to get a message to Ryndor. We ended up becoming pretty good friends. I sent him a letter asking about what was going on in the Northern Forest while we were in Chesedonia the first time. He slipped a reply letter that he’d apparently meant to send sooner into my bag before we got separated in the Theor Forest,” I said.

Sync glanced back, then flipped out of his seat and landed next to me. “Well?”

Jade sighed. “We can’t be running around in eight places at once,” he reminded us. I shrugged. So? Better to share the knowledge.

“The southern clan has gone feral.”

“Um, hello? Ligers are monsters, that tends to happen,” Anise said. I shook my head.

“No. Ligers, cheagles, hresvelgrs, uniceri, sea serpents, and dragons are sentient. Far more than any other species of monster. That’s why Kairi can create a telepathic connection with Twilight. She wouldn’t be able to do the same with a griffin or wolf,” I said, feeling very much like a teacher all of a sudden. “None of those can go feral without a serious source of dissolution. I know the uniceri can’t stand miasma. Sea serpents don’t take well to fresh water or cold temperatures. Dragons turn feral with old age, which is usually something like a few hundred years.”

“How do you know all of this?” Jade wondered. I shrugged, remembering months of rummaging around in a dusty old library.

“There’s this library, see. I don’t remember how to get there anymore, but... well. If we locked you down there, you’d never be bored. Not with the way your mind works.”

Natalia crossed her arms. “ _Can_ we lock him down there?”

I chuckled. “No. We need his connections to the Malkuth military.”

“Oh, I’m hurt. Is that all I’m good for?”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, the only thing that can make a liger go feral is a disease unique to ligers. It’s normally rather rare, but... It looks like almost all of the southern clan’s alphas have caught it. They’ll still answer to Arietta, but...” I trailed off. I’d only ever see one liger feral. And I prayed it had died about the same time as its replica. “They’ve decided the eastern clan, which currently has the lowest number of feral ligers, is a clan of traitors. I’m not sure how that works, but that’s their claim. At any rate, the southern clan has declared war on the eastern.”

“And the western?”

I sighed. “Tucking their tails between their legs and hightailing it out of there. The packs near the southern and eastern borders have already retreated to northern Rugnica. I think they’re waiting for the ice bridges.”

Jade started. “Those only last a few days at most...”

“Yeah, but it’s a path out of there. They don’t want anything to do with the feral southern ligers, and I don’t blame them. But if the eastern clan doesn’t get out of there, they’ll fall to the same fate of the southern,” I said. “Sorylle, and Koran before her, are both eastern. I’ve got a strong attachment to that clan.”

Sync frowned. “When does the ice bridge form?” he asked. I frowned, but it was Jade who answered.

“Sometime between Shadow-Decan 30 and Shadow-Redecan 20. It’s caused by shifting ocean currents. The current that normally runs through there breaks in two temporarily when the flow starts to change and the two new currents flow to either side of Rugnica for a few days, pulling down cold water and ice from Keterburg,” Jade said. “The ice bridges could be a few feet wide where they touch the southern shore, or many kilometers wide. It’s difficult to predict their locations or when they’ll form.”

“And a whole liger pack wants to use that to get to Keterburg?” Anise asked, incredulous.

I sighed. “Not just one pack, Anise. One pack of ligers can be anywhere from five to twenty ligers. We’re talking about dozens of packs... almost three hundred ligers. And that’s just the western clan. That number could easily double if just a third of the eastern clan makes it out.”

No one spoke for a while, and I rolled my eyes. “You guys realize, as princess... actually, no. As High Queen of the southern liger clan, Arietta has almost a thousand ligers at her beck and call, right?” A lot of shocked eyes looked at me, and I huffed. “Wow, you guys know nothing about monsters...”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “So not only does Arietta have an entire division of Oracle soldiers behind her, she’s got a veritable army of ligers as well, discounting all of her other monsters? I know you’re technically eastern clan yourself, Dark, but I’m suddenly _very_ glad that the southern clan is preoccupied with the eastern.”

I sighed. “Keep in mind, only alpha ligers grow to the size Twilight is. The other ligers that were in the Cheagle Woods, and the others we’ve fought up ‘til now, have all been delta rank. No omegas, thank heavens, those guys are tricky, but...” I trailed off, seeing that Jade had gotten my point.

“Still, throw in the rest of her monsters... I’m going to have to agree with Jade on this one,” Anise said.

“We’re nearing St. Binah,” Noelle called.

Our rescue of Ginji had gone perfectly, with one small little problem called a large monster attacking the other group. Thankfully, it hadn’t slowed them down too much. Of course, Ginji needed to rest after that, and since his grandfather had gotten the Albiore II ready while we were out, his little sister had volunteered to pilot it for us instead.

Which is why we were now flying over Rugnica.

Noelle brought the Albiore II down slowly, giving the remaining citizens more than enough time to clear space for it to land. Guy and Seth herding everyone to one side probably had something to do with that as well. I didn’t bother to get up from where I was now lounging behind the pilot/copilot/passenger seats. Twilight didn’t seem inclined to get up either, and Sorylle made it a point to drape herself across my legs.

“You’re so helpful,” Sync commented, sitting next to me. I smirked.

“I don’t see you helping your girlfriend to get _her city’s_ people onboard.”

“You’re not helping your girlfriend either.”

“She is not my girlfriend!”

“Dark! Get out here and help!” Natalia called. I sighed.

“But, she is my boss. Sorylle, I need up.” Silver eyes looked up at me like I was nuts, but she did move... into Sync’s lap.

“Oh, come on! I was gonna get up too, you know.”

“Deal with it, pillow.”

I chuckled, heading outside to help Natalia with the elderly before doing a final sweep of the town. We’d just gotten back into sight of the Albiore when the ground jolted underneath us. My eyes widened, and I grabbed Natalia, picking her up bridal style and running the last few meters.

Asch stood at the top of the ramp, grabbing my arm and hauling me in even as Jade closed the hatch behind us. Natalia and I fell to the floor in a heap, only for gravity to suddenly cease on us.

“What’s happening?!”

Jade scowled. “It looks like we’ve passed the Dividing Line Tear was talking about.”

The Albiore’s engines whirred, and the floor was once again under us. I held onto Natalia, who was clutching onto me for dear life.

I don’t blame her, given how close we came to not making it onto the Albiore in time.

“Aww. You two are so cute!”

I leveled a glare at Selenia at an intensity I hadn’t reached in many a month. “We almost died. If she doesn’t want to let go of me after _that_ , I’m not going to make her.”

Selenia gulped, turned, and ran off, while Jade sighed. “You didn’t have to be that acidic.”

“I’m not happy about nearly dying either,” I grumbled, moving to stand. I sighed, noting that Natalia had gone from hyperventilating to shaking. “Hey... Can you walk?” A moment of struggling to move her legs the way she needed to in order to stand, and then a quick shake of the head. I smiled a bit. I guess that’s to be expected. You stop collapsing in fear after the third or fourth near-death experience.

I reached down and picked her up again, standing on perfectly steady legs.

Natalia buried her face in my shoulder, while Asch looked at us with an expression I couldn’t read. I tilted my head to the side, then, carefully, signed five letters, grateful Kairi had taught me this while we were in the Meggiora Highlands. ‘Later?’

Asch shook his head and looked away, crossing his arms. Jade glanced between him and me for a moment before shrugging it off.

I, on the other hand, really wanted to know what was up with him all of a sudden. Still, with Natalia in my arms, there wasn’t a lot I could do about it.

I headed for the cockpit, noting that Selenia, Sync, Glenn and Elder McGovern, Tear, and Seth were the only ones here, aside from Noelle. Asch hadn’t followed me, though Jade had.

Seth’s eyes locked onto Natalia. “Is she...?”

“She’ll be fine. It’s not like this was her hundredth near-death experience,” I said. He sighed in relief.

“At least we’re all okay. Guy, Anise, Ion, Reighn, and the ligers are making sure everyone’s settled in for now. It’ll be another few hours at the least before we can reach Yulia City,” he said. I put Natalia down carefully in the area I’d been sitting in before, and she reluctantly released the grip she’d had on my neck, only to grab my arm before I could pull away. I sighed and crouched there next to her.

Her eyes were still unfocused, though I could tell she’d gotten most of her thought processes back.

“How can you do it?” she whispered. I tilted my head to the side.

“Do it...? You mean, brush off dying like that?” I asked. A tiny nod was my only response, and I let my head drop. The others were giving us some space, thankfully. “It didn’t used to be easy. I remember the first time it really hit me that Danté had almost killed me. I was so scared. I didn’t want to leave Koran without anyone. I didn’t want to just disappear.”

I was quiet for a bit. “But... then it happened again, and again. By the third or fourth time, I realized something. I’m going to die someday. No, I’m not going to be ready for it, I’m not going to happy about it, but there’s nothing I can do to avoid it. It took Danté coming after me while I was still recovering from the most recent bout, but I ended up developing the opinion I have now. If I can still get up and keep going after one of these experiences, then I need to get up and keep going, or I’ll leave myself open to really be killed.”

Natalia’s breathing finally leveled out completely, and she looked up at me, warm hazel eyes finally getting a bit of life back.

“Dark... Thank you.”

I smiled, finally prying my arm from her grip and standing. “I’m going to go talk to Asch. He looked like there was something he was having trouble with earlier,” I said. Natalia nodded and moved to stand, only to fall to the floor again. She giggled.

“It seems I’m not as recovered from the shock as I thought I was. I’ll stay here.”

I smiled, nodded, and turned to leave the cockpit again.

Jade followed me, tapping my shoulder as soon as we were out of earshot of the others. “You know, a few years of actual military service could probably earn you a high-enough ranking promotion that King Ingobert wouldn’t be able to automatically turn you down if you ask for her hand.”

I snorted. “She’s already engaged... Technically. Now that everyone knows the truth, Asch might decide to go back to Baticul.”

“Or he might decide to formally renounce the engagement,” Jade said. “Which I think is why he’s so confused now.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Confused? That didn’t look like confusion earlier. More like jealousy to me. Jealousy, or longing. Either way...”

Jade shook his head. “My guess is, it wasn’t so much that he wanted Natalia back, it was more a matter of wishing Kairi were here. At the same time, he knows exactly what you mentioned earlier, and he’s not sure he can bring himself to call off the engagement.”

I crossed my arms and thought about it for a minute. Then I tried to think about the whole thing from Asch’s point of view.

“You’re making almost the exact same face Asch was earlier,” Jade noted. I huffed.

“Thank you, Colonel Pointless.”

“Any time, Lieutenant Snarky.”

“What the hell were you two talking about that led to _that_?” Asch asked as he walked up. I smirked.

“Nothing. Well, nothing important. At any rate, I should go see if Natalia’s back on her feet yet,” I said. I heard Jade muttering something under his breath and froze, turning to look at him in shock. He stopped and blinked at me, as if he was innocent, while Asch crossed his arms.

“What was that, Jade?” he asked, genuinely curious. It built slowly, then erupted. I laughed, realizing that I really had heard Jade correctly.

“Ha! You actually...! Ha! Oh... Kairi’s hearing about that one...”

Jade sighed. “Well, _that_ didn’t have the effect I’d hoped it would...”

I just laughed harder. Poor Jade. He never could win this game, could he?

Asch looked back and forth between us like we’d suddenly turned into women. “What in the world is wrong with you two?”

I shrugged and headed into the cockpit, chanting an all-too-familiar little ditty that Jade was probably starting to hate by now.

“Jade and Cantabile sittin’ in a tree ~”

“Are you two ever going to stop teasing each other?” Natalia asked. I grinned.

“Well, given how horribly Jade’s most recent plan failed...” I trailed off. Sync smirked.

“You two should keep count. First one to ten losses asks the girl on a date.”

I grinned. “Yes.”

“No,” Jade muttered.

“Too late, we’re doing it.”

Jade groaned.

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** This chapter is the first in about 30 that hasn't already had a Fun Fact down here at the bottom when I copy-pasted from the MSWord document. O.o_


	51. Chapter 5.4 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 19/21

_“I do not sound like a dying cat!” –Asch_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

I sighed, watching as the citizens of St. Binah slowly got off of the Albiore again. We’d landed in an open area just inside the barriers of Yulia City.

Selenia, Glenn, and Elder McGovern were doing most of the traffic-control. The elder was leading them toward the city, Glenn and Selenia making sure no one strayed off. More than a few natives of Yulia City met them and started finding them shelter.

We watched them go until the only ones left were those of us who had come to evacuate them originally, Selenia and her father, and Teodoro.

“Is there anything we can do to save St. Binah?” Glenn asked. Asch crossed his arms, while Teodoro sighed.

“It may be possible to program the passage ring to hold the land afloat above the mud, but even if that were so, we have no idea how to do it,” Teodoro stated.

“Kairi, Sync and I have been to all of the passage rings except the two gates,” Asch said. “I’ve watched Kairi operate all of them... I should be able to do it. If not, I’m sure once we’ve gotten the passage ring open, Jade can do it.”

Teodoro blinked, before sighing. “I swear that girl was dropped into this world from the Dawn Age...”

Asch, Sync, and I exchanged looks, Asch turning his head away from the others to hide the smirk, while Sync snorted. I just let my head fall forward, bangs hiding my face. Teodoro had no idea at all...

“Well, if you three are done laughing... Noelle? Do you think you can take us back up?” Jade asked.

“It fell,” Asch said quickly. “Shurrey Hill should be down here in the Qliphoth.” Noelle smiled.

“Alright. Back to where St. Binah was, then. I’ll just sleep while you guys are dealing with the passage ring. Besides, I’m happy to fly,” she said. Selenia and Glenn exchanged a look, and Glenn pulled her off to one side before bending over to talk quietly. Selenia said something, and her father made a gesture with one hand, then she spoke again, looking surprised.

By the time they were done, Selenia looked caught between elation and pure shock. The two of them walked back over to us.

“I’m sending Selenia with you,” Glenn announced. Jade frowned.

“Glenn...”

“Don’t get me wrong, Jade. If you let her die, I’ll kill you myself. But... There’s nowhere for Selenia to escape to outside Yulia City where I can keep a discrete eye on her. It’s all miasma, or Aramis Spring. I’d rather she be with you than here, with nothing to do except get in trouble,” he said. Then he took a deep breath. “Besides. I’m not so much trusting you with her as I am Sync.”

Sync flinched slightly, while Selenia shot him a look that read, quite plainly, ‘he was gonna figure it out sooner or later.’

After getting confirmations from both Jade and Sync, Glenn turned, gave Selenia one last hug, and headed into Yulia City with Teodoro. The rest of us got back onto the Albiore.

Twilight laid down in a corner, I sat up against him, Sorylle laid down with her head in my lap, Sync used her as a pillow, and Selenia sat cross-legged next to us, looking very much like she was tempted to claim Sync as her pillow like he’d done to Sorylle.

We’d been in the air for about half an hour (it would be another four and a half yet, if the initial journey was any indication) when Asch came back and sat down nearby as well, dragging Reighn along with him. Of course, that resulted in Seth joining in, and soon enough, everyone was sitting in the back except for Tear, who was resting in the seat behind Noelle, Natalia, who was writing in her journal, Guy, who was bugging Noelle, and Noelle, for obvious reasons.

“So, what’re we up against?” Seth asked, looking at Asch and Sync. Asch had sat down near Sync’s feet and his lap had turned into a footrest for the lazy-looking teen.

“Fonic golems, mostly. A few ropers.”

“The damn tuning fork was a bitch,” Sync grumbled, eyes closed. Asch sighed.

“Too bad Mieu disappeared on us. We could’ve used his attack ability for that,” he said. “At any rate, depending on how sloppy Van, Luke, and Zion were, we may not have to deal with it. The passage ring is going to be the hard part. We know the key we put in place, but who knows what Van’s done?”

“And what about the—“ Sync started, cutting off suddenly. He glanced up at me, then seemed to shake it off, holding up a hand to sign the last word. ‘Miasma.’

Asch shrugged, signing more words. ‘Poison cleansing technique. Painful, but works.’

Sync sighed, letting his eyes close again.

“Dark, do you mind translating for the rest of us who didn’t understand that?” Jade asked. Asch looked at me in alarm before smacking himself upside the head. I chuckled.

“Nah. It wasn’t that important.” I made four letters. ‘U. O. Me.’

Asch made a motion that almost looked like he was blowing a kiss, further baffling everyone, while I chuckled. “Anyway... You two know how to get past the rest of it, right?”

Sync nodded. “Yeah... Although... Tear, which hymns do you know the melody for?”

Tear was quiet for a moment. “All but the seventh.”

“And Shurrey Hill was...?” Sync continued, now looking at Asch. He scoffed.

“No fucking idea. Do you remember any?”

“Mt. Roneal is second, third, and fourth.”

“You only remember that one because you were there within the last month, don’t you?”

“Akzeriuth was the first, fourth, and fifth. Mt. Zaleho had the third hymn, but I don’t remember the other two. Zao Ruins are first, second, and fourth. Um... Beyond that, no clue.”

“What are you two talking about?” Anise asked. Asch sighed.

“There were three seals on the sephiroth before we came along and added a fourth. With Akzeriuth gone, the Albertesque Seal is done for. The Daathic Seal is the one Ion and Sync can undo...” Asch said. Ion frowned.

“That leaves the Yulian Seal. How did you three bypass that one?” he wondered. Asch smirked.

“Kairi knows the melody of the Grand Fonic Hymn. Remember her comment about my singing voice on the way to Keterburg? Each passage ring has three designated hymns. You have to sing at least two of them to unlock the Yulian Seal.”

“Assuming we don’t need all three,” Sync piped up. “Remember in Daath, just before we ended up in Baticul?”

“That was because of the Albertesque Seal closing up again,” Asch said. Sync shrugged.

“True. But with it gone, who’s to say some security feature didn’t kick in? We might need to do all three now.”

“But what if we need the seventh hymn? I don’t know that one,” Tear said. Sync looked uncomfortable.

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll do it myself.”

“Assuming you can actually sing.”

“I can sing a hell of a lot better than you can, Mr. Dying Cat!”

“I do not sound like a dying cat!”

“Dying frog, then.”

I couldn’t help it. I busted up laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Which, of course, turned both Asch and Sync bright red.

“That conversation got very off-topic from the sounds of things,” Guy said, finally leaving Noelle alone to come join us in the back. I shook my head.

“Only a little. So how far out are we?” I asked.

“About an hour,” Noelle called back.

“What?! But we’ve only been up here for about an hour!” Anise said. Seth rolled his eyes.

“The Albiore’s a lot lighter without all of the civilians, and we don’t have to fight the wind like we did on our way to St. Binah. Of course we’d go faster.”

Anise shot him a glare, while Reighn sighed.

“Tear, Natalia, would you two join us please?” The two girls came back and sat down, and Reighn shot a pointed look at Ion, who nodded once. I’d obviously missed something there.

Ion stood and looked around before taking a deep breath. “With Dorian General Grants and the majority of the God-Generals now working against the wishes of both the Grand Maestro and the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei, I have decided to reinstate Reighn Aurelius as the Head of my Fon Master Guardians. In addition... Asch fon Fabre and Sync Osborne. I would like to formally request that you return to your old positions in the Order of Lorelei, at least until we clean up the mess Van has made.”

Sync and Asch exchanged startled looks, though Sync looked less surprised than Asch did.

“I won’t ask you to make up your minds immediately,” Ion said quickly. Then he sighed and glanced at Reighn again. The man nodded once and took Ion’s place standing up.

“I made good use of the time we spent in Grand Chokmah waiting for Jade to recover by mailing all of my contacts. I’ve gotten word back from more than half of them, which, given recent events, is impressive,” he said. “Mohs is spearheading the war effort, with Count Almandine as his main hand in Kimlasca. Malkuth doesn’t want the war at all, but Brigadier General Aslan Frings has already begun preparing the troops around Engeve.”

Jade nodded. “Ari said he and Aslan would be stuck in that area. Anything else?”

“Aerith has taken over the Intelligence Division and seems to be operating as a double agent between Mohs and Van. I’m not sure yet who she’s really working for, but I’ll throw my money on Mohs. First Division is still led by Largo, second by Dist, and third Arietta. Flick the Phoenix and Legretta the Quick have actually switched, so to speak. Legretta took over the fifth division, Flick’s taken over the fourth. Cantabile is still in command of the sixth.” Reighn paused here and looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Starlorne Arlynde has been placed in command of the Special Operations division.”

I blinked. That name...

“The girl who was supposed to be your predecessor?” Anise asked. “She’s back?”

Reighn nodded. “Yeah. All the reports claim a girl with silver and gold hair and blue eyes, always wearing white and light blue. That’s Star. I’d know, I went through hell trying to get her into her first temporary Guardian uniform because it wasn’t in those colors,” he said. “At any rate, in addition to that all happening just before Akzeriuth’s fall, which was when Van, Zion, Luke, and all of the God-Generals with the exception of Cantabile left the Order, it seems Danté Daemione has disappeared off the face of the earth.”

A shock ran up my spine, and I noted that I wasn’t the only one who was suddenly uncomfortable.

“What do you mean?” Jade asked. Reighn shook his head.

“I can pin him down near St. Binah four months ago, and we saw him in the Abandoned Factory two months ago, but...” he trailed off with a frown. “Aside from those two instances, no one’s seen him. Which is odd, because I can usually get recent word of him just from asking the nearest civilian.”

I took a deep breath that was supposed to be slow and controlled, but just felt sharp. “He’s gone under. Rhunön, or maybe Ryndor... They’ve called him back down and he’s not coming up again until he’s got a mission from one of them, or maybe Zion.”

All eyes turned to me, and Seth sighed. “Damn.”

A wry smirk tugged at my lips. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”

Reighn frowned. “Alright. What do you two know that I don’t?”

I glanced at Seth, who sighed and shrugged. “Dark and I were raised by Rhunön and Ryndor Daemione, a pair of assassin siblings. Rhunön has long since retired from that in favor of fucking around with replica data, as the two of us sitting here can attest to, but Ryndor is still an active assassin. He found Danté as a child and raised him, and then took Zion and Star in a couple years ago. Flick is a replica of Star, believe it or not. The seven of us, Rhunön, Ryndor, Zion, Danté, Star, Flick, and I, were all supposed to be a detached part of the Order of Lorelei, meant to ensure that the Close Score was fulfilled properly,” he said. I nodded, remembering that, as well as a conversation a few kilometers north of Keterburg.

“If I remember correctly, that would put Zion, or maybe Star, in charge, wouldn’t it?” I asked. Seth rolled his eyes.

“Zion. Which is why _I_ left.”

Asch smirked. “And where does that leave Flick, then?” Seth gave him an odd look, and he chuckled. “Flick handed Kairi her wing pack the first time she was kidnapped, then again after she lost her memory, and she gave Kairi my wing pack when we were preparing to leave her and Arietta in the Zao Ruins,” he said.

Seth blinked a few times, then sighed, sounding tired. “You know what? Flick’s always been strange, so for now, I’m just going to leave that be. I’m not entirely sure I want to know what’s going through that head of hers, honestly.”

I sighed. “Noelle? ETA?”

“Fifteen minutes?” the girl guessed. The rest of us sighed, a few people, including Jade, standing up and moving away. I leaned back against Twilight, watching as everyone except for Sync, Asch, and Seth moved to sit or stand elsewhere for the last little bit of our journey. Asch glanced at Seth, then me and Sync, then at Seth again. Then I noticed something.

“Hey, Asch? You should go get Ion and dump him with us while you do something else. Clump all the replicas together.”

I got smacked upside the head for my efforts. Not that I didn’t deserve it.

Asch sighed. “Seth... Do you mind giving us some space. The three of us need to talk,” he said. Seth shrugged, stood, and looked around, before making a face and walking over to Jade.

Yup. I’d be making a face, too, if I thought that had been my best option. Oh well.

“Did Kairi tell you, or were you just being a really good friend?” Asch asked, looking at me. I blinked a few times, noting exactly how serious the former noble looked. I frowned and shook my head, simply for not having a clue what he was talking about.

Sync shrugged. “Oh well. Still, does the poison technique she taught us really work on the miasma?” he asked. Asch nodded.

“Yeah. She’s done it before, though she said it was really painful to do in large amounts,” he said. “I’ve got the next best Energy control behind her, so I’m hoping I can program the passage ring alright, but...”

Sync nodded. “I’ll help if Jade has to.”

I could only sigh.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _If you all want to, go check out my DeviantART. Somewhere on there is a written entry labeled ‘Re:Ripples Character Interviews’. Go read it, if for no other reason than to laugh at Ryndor’s oddities. It’s all, ‘I hate kids, I hate kids, I like casinos, I’m bored, I hate kids’ and then the very last question has such a serious, touching answer that it’s almost out of character..._


	52. Chapter 5.5 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20/21

_*Gods, we are a bad influence on you...* -Asch_

_*What letter was this?* -Dark_

_*I should never have sent it in the first place, but that’s beside the point.* -Sync_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

Asch and Sync had called it on the monsters.

Fonic golems. Ropers. Bats.

Oh, and the tuning fork. Although that wasn’t a monster. It was still a pain. It took Anise hitting the thing with her old mace to unlock the door.

But, we made it to the passage ring. Asch took a deep breath, looking more than a little worried, and stepped up to a golden... thing. The top opened like a book the minute he placed his hand down on it, and I didn’t miss the silent gasp or the flash of pain, nor did I mistake the expression that followed as anything other than ‘how the hell can someone do this to themselves?’ Green eyes glanced up at the dimly lit diagrams above.

“Damn.”

“I’m just going to say ‘I told you so.’” Asch turned around long enough to whack Sync upside the head before looking up again.

“Second, fourth, and... Damn. Seventh,” Asch said. Sync groaned, while Tear stepped forward and started singing. The familiar melody of the second hymn filled the air, followed shortly by the fourth, which was slowly becoming more familiar as Tear became more comfortable with it. It was useful, too.

_“Rei Va Zue Kuroa Toue Rei Rei~”_

Everyone stared a moment at Sync, who immediately turned red and faced away from the rest of us. Jade was the first to recover.

“What’s that?”

Asch glanced up, and rolled his eyes. “Oh, very amusing, Van. Sync, you’re the apprentice riddler. Translate.”

Sync looked up, and so did I.

_What lies here now was not before_

_Placed here by she whose time is sand_

_If this, the world of fonic lore_

_Then what, the name of her far land?_

It hit me like a brick to the face, and I wondered how Asch hadn’t figured it out. Actually, that’s not true. He wasn’t even reading it, I don’t think.

“Asch, read it. You know the answer. You, Dark, and I are the only ones aside from Zion who do,” Sync said.

Asch was quiet for a moment before his eyes widened. “Okay... I admit that’s a good riddle... But how the hell does Zion know?!”

Sync shrugged. “No idea. Might have something to do with why he keeps kidnapping her.”

“What are you two talking about?” Jade asked. Sync rolled his eyes.

“It’s not important. Asch, put in the answer already.”

Five letters appeared in quick succession.

_Earth

The rest of the diagram above lit up, and Asch made a few swiping motions. A new screen appeared, and he cursed quietly. “Jade? Can you understand any of this?”

Jade stepped a little closer, and nodded. “Yes. Do you need me to talk you through disabling the seal?” Asch shook his head and stepped away from the book-thing.

“No. Unlocking the passage ring controls is the only part that requires the use of seventh fonons. You should be clear to do it yourself, so long as you keep your hand on the terminal,” he said. Jade nodded and stepped up to the ‘terminal.’ The rest of us watched, bored, as Jade worked. Asch watched for a few minutes before Sync pulled him off to the side a bit. They spoke in hushed whispers, and I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about.

Almost half an hour later, Jade pulled his hand away from the terminal, allowing the book part to close. Of course, the moment it was closed, Jade hit one knee, and Asch was running over to him, mumbling obscenities under his breath.

“I told you not to take your hand off!” Asch yelled, now right next to Jade. The colonel flinched, and Asch sighed, hands already glowing green as he checked the man over.

“What was that?” Jade asked, voice hoarse. Asch bit his lip, then shook his head. “Asch.”

The green glow of Scan disappeared, and Asch’s head dropped. “I’ll... I’ll tell you back on the Albiore.”

Jade didn’t look convinced, but as the redhead helped him back to his feet, Sync crossed his arms. “What all did you do to the passage ring?” he asked. Jade huffed.

“Albiore,” he said, sounding a little breathless still. I wondered if the pain Asch had felt, had been prepared for, had caught him off-guard, or if it was worse than Asch had felt.

Then I realized something.

Kairi, Asch, and Sync had done this before.

_“My arm, my knee, my liver and kidney... I’m a mess.”_

_“You four are going to Grand Chokmah.”_

_“She’s sick, isn’t she?”_

And on the Albiore, Sync signing six letters that he didn’t dare say out loud.

_Miasma._

Sorylle had said Kairi smelled of miasma when we were in the factory. Kairi collapsed in the Qliphoth after the fall of Akzeriuth.

I glanced at Jade and Asch. The miasma was coming from the passage rings. It had to be. That was the only explanation for all of this. Asch _knew_...

And he still volunteered to do it in an attempt to leave no one the wiser.

I took a deep breath, silently cursing the man who was still a noble at heart. Do what you have to in order to keep the people happy. What they don’t know won’t hurt them. Typical...

“Hey guys! Back already?”

I glanced up. Sure enough, we’d already made it back to the Albiore. I sighed. Well, I’d find out soon enough. Jade looked ready to skin Asch alive, and Asch looked... Like hell, actually. His face was paler than usual, and his breathing was labored, but he was still supporting Jade, who looked about as badly off.

Once we were all settled in the cockpit again, Tear crossed her arms and looked at Asch and Jade. “Is this normal?” she asked. Asch closed his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t think to mention that the passage rings make you sick before we did this?” Jade asked. Sync snorted.

“It’s not the passage rings themselves making you sick. They pull up seventh fonons out of the core. The core is contaminated by miasma, so of course the seventh fonons they pull up are contaminated as well,” the rough replica said. “When the terminal starts up and then closes down, those contaminated seventh fonons slip into the nearest human body. Asch started it up, and you made the mistake of letting it close down.”

Jade looked over at Asch. “You knew you’d be poisoning yourself, and you still went in knowing full well what the consequences would be?”

“Yes. And I’m not the first one to do it.”

Crimson eyes went from narrowed in frustration to wide in horror. “Kairi.”

Asch nodded. “Kairi. I’m the one that caught the miasma in her body, almost six months after we started in on the sephiroth. Her liver and kidney are comparable to someone who’s been binge-drinking most of the last decade, an entire lobe in her right lung has shriveled up, and she’s still fighting to see Van stopped. The least I can do is help her get the morphine to cover up the pain.”

Natalia looked concerned. “But what about the miasma? It’ll kill her...”

“Not if she can flush it out fast enough,” Asch argued. “She knows it’s there now, she can get rid of it. It’s a painful process, but she can do it, nonetheless. And Sync and I know the method. I’d been planning to use it myself.”

Jade took a deep, if shaky, breath. “Would it be possible for you to teach me?” he asked. Asch nodded.

“Yeah. Of course, there’s always the option of me doing it for both of us. It’s not hard, just painful, according to Kairi. She would know, she’s been doing it for weeks.”

Jade shook his head, then put out a hand to steady himself. I frowned. Asch wasn’t nearly as dizzy as he was. Why...?

“No. I’d rather learn to do it myself, just in case.”

Asch nodded, then frowned and used another Scan to check over Jade again.

Pain flashed across Jade’s features, and Asch’s eyes widened. Before any of us realized exactly what was going on, Asch had Jade leaned back in his chair, and the redhead was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed. Sync blinked a few times before he, too, sat down.

Remembering a parallel world filled with bright lights and being able to step out of my body, I sat down as well, closing my eyes and relaxing. Now then... How did this go again?

Reach inside for a light... No, that wasn’t right. That’s what Kairi said, but... It wasn’t so much a light as it was... warmth. Warmth, hidden away from the frigidity that was the rest of my soul. As if my thoughts had summoned it before me, the warmth spread through my body, a feeling that was accompanied by weightlessness. I didn’t have to open my eyes, but I did, because everything was so much clearer when my eyes were open.

I stood, my body remaining in a cross-legged position on the floor.

Though Asch and Sync sat almost two yards apart, they both were bent over Jade’s form. And, perhaps even more worrying than his pale face and ragged breath, was the way he seemed to be... flickering.

Asch and Sync had strong, steady glows about themselves, and I probably did as well. Their bodies were faded, but the others, looking around, were glowing just as we were. Their souls, probably. But what would disrupt Jade’s soul in such a way?

*Instead of just standing there, why don’t you help?* Sync asked. The worried tone of voice had me spinning on my heel to step over to Jade.

“What are they doing? Does anyone know?” Anise asked. Reighn crossed his arms.

“I’ve seen Sync do this before, once, when he got irritated with one of his injuries. It was completely healed a few days later along with a few other minor ones, like nature had sped up his healing processes. I think they’re trying to help Jade,” he said. Tear frowned.

“But then, what’s wrong with Jade?”

Sync blinked out of existence for a moment before re-appearing with a strong green glow around him. Everyone started, save for Selenia, and I rolled my eyes, drawing as many Energies together as I could. I wasn’t nearly as good at this as Sync or Asch, and certainly nowhere near Kairi’s level, but at least I was more help than the rest of them, standing around doing nothing.

*Moon Energies,* I announced, herding them over to Asch carefully. He muttered something that might have been ‘thanks’ and started siphoning them into Jade’s fingers. Or rather, I realized, his fonslots. A very pale pink glow lit up a moment and then faded, and I blinked in surprise as a few seventh fonons danced past, hesitated, and then darted into his body.

*That... shouldn’t be possible...* I muttered. Asch gave me a wry smile and started in on the fonslots in Jade’s other hand. I noted that he was quickly running low on Energies, so I started collecting up a few more.

*Everyone recovered from the shock, now?* Sync asked, lips moving but voice in my head regardless.

“What... how...?” Tear muttered. Selenia grinned.

“Astral projection. He can appear literally anywhere on the planet.”

*Ah, anywhere I’ve been, at least. I’d rather not try to go somewhere I’m not familiar with,* Sync corrected. *At any rate... You were asking about Jade. His body isn’t just rejecting the miasma, it’s rejecting the seventh fonons the miasma is latched onto. Asch is trying to fix it.*

*And I can’t grip Energies as easily as fonons, so would you please get back onto the second plane?* I grumbled. Sync rolled his eyes, waved a hand, and pulled another few dozen Energies over to me. I blinked a few times, and the other replica shrugged.

“What was that about?” Natalia asked. Sync shook his head.

*Dark’s hopeless.*

I rolled my eyes. *We can’t all be masters of Energies.*

*No. But you’re still hopeless.*

“Um... You’re talking to nothing...?” Guy noted. Sync grinned, an evil, malicious expression that honestly made me want to run for my life.

*That’s what _you_ think.*

*Gods, we are a bad influence on you...* Asch mumbled. Sync threw his head back and laughed.

*This, from the idiot who pulled a random letter out of Kairi’s bag and read it out loud.*

Asch’s ears on the first plane turned pink, a pale comparison to the brilliant red his face was on the second plane. Still...

*What letter was this?*

*No. We are not going there,* Asch insisted, drawing fonons down toward Jade’s eyes. Sync snickered and disappeared a moment, before re-appearing on the second plane.

*Aw, why not? I’m not embarrassed by it anymore.*

*Because you’ve actually learned how to write letters finally.*

*And riddles.*

*Yes, and riddles. But that first letter was awful.*

*You’re the one that made stupid comments while reading it out loud.*

*She should have burned it before leaving Keterburg.*

*I should never have sent it in the first place, but that’s beside the point.*

I sighed and slowly let myself fade back to my body, Sync taking hold of the moon Energies as I left to keep them available for Asch.

The warmth faded, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to go right back onto the second plane. I opened my eyes and looked up.

“Sync really needs a pastime that doesn’t involve irritating people simply because he can,” I said. Natalia looked down at me in surprise.

“What in the world were you three doing? Were you talking to each other in a way we couldn’t hear? Because that’s what it sounded like,” she asked. I nodded.

“Pretty much. So... Back to the surface, then?”

Tear nodded. “Yes. Do we know how long Jade is going to be down for the count?” she asked. Sync’s eyes fluttered open then.

“Wait for Asch to finish checking Jade over one last time, and then ask him,” he said, standing carefully. “That said... Ion? Can I talk to you?”

Ion looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded. “Of course.”

The two of them left the cockpit, and we all waited for Asch to ‘wake up.’ This took another fifteen minutes, and Asch sighed. “Jade will recover... But it’ll probably be a few days before he wakes up now,” he admitted. “Noelle? Any chance you could drop us off just south of Theor Forest when we go back up?”

“That won’t be a problem. Where to after that?” she asked. I crossed my arms.

“Engeve. That area would have been connected to the Shurrey Hill sephiroth, yes? Grand Chokmah is part of the Mt. Roneal area, but with Shurrey Hill gone, Engeve will fall soon as well,” I said.

Asch nodded. “Yeah. I’m gonna take Jade to Grand Chokmah for now. The rest of you, evacuate Engeve.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Yes, I did just turn Jade into a Seventh Fonist. –sticks out tongue- I hadn’t planned too, but I was stuck halfway through the chapter and I realized rather suddenly that, if someone who isn’t a seventh fonist isn’t supposed to have lots of seventh fonons in their body, then... Shouldn’t the seventh fonons be causing Jade just as many problems as the miasma? And I’ve already made Flick a seventh fonist when she didn’t start Re:ARitA as one... So yeah. (Jade’s reaction will be properly written in a CR chapter.) Also... Guess what? Any guesses as to how many updates are left until we catch up to where I left off last time? Really, guess. We’re close. That’s my only hint._


	53. Chapter 5.6 - Almost War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21/21

_“Kairi and Sync’s sleeping schedule must finally be wearing off on me.” – Asch_

_“Is that one of my sweatshirts?” –Jade_

* * *

**Asch’s POV**

I was ready to curse at someone by the time I was able to drop Jade on his bed in the palace. Between carrying him and fighting a monster between where they’d dropped me and the checkpoint in Theor Forest, I was exhausted. My clothes were in horrible shape, no longer able to stand up to the strain I’d been putting them through. Hopefully Emperor Peony had the projects Kairi and I had given him done.

I’d been more than a little anxious about letting Emperor Peony make clothing for me, but Kairi had brushed it off with a devious grin that I’d decided long ago was best to ignore.

I wandered into the ‘living room’ of Jade’s apartments, took one look at the couch, and decided I wasn’t in the mood to go to my own rooms. I barely even managed to get my boots off before I was sprawled out right there, fast asleep within minutes.

I woke up the next morning wondering which cruel deity had decided I needed to channel Kairi for a day. Five a.m. I woke up at five a.m.! And rolling over didn’t help, since I just rolled off the couch.

I ended up starting the day a lot earlier than normal. I had to filch a shirt from Jade’s closet since I doubted Peony was awake yet. Breakfast in the kitchens, then out to a training field.

I must have spent two hours out there, just slipping through the sword stances Van had taught me over the years. It was... relaxing, really, and all of a sudden, I could see why Kairi enjoyed doing something like this with her eyes closed whenever she was sure she was on flat ground.

Step, step, swing, shift, step-thrust, back, step, swing, swing, step...

“Are you practicing the sword or dancing?”

I scowled, opening my eyes again and looking for the idiot who’d interrupted me. Never again will I snap at Kairi for grumbling at me after I’ve distracted her.

I cooled down a bit when I realized that my audience was none other than Emperor Peony, and I sheathed my sword with a sigh. “Good morning.”

One blonde eyebrow arched over an obviously bemused blue eye, and I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been up for hours already. It’s as good a morning as it’s going to get at this point.”

The emperor chuckled and crossed his arms, suddenly becoming serious again. “As great as it is to see you unharmed after that hyperresonance, I heard you brought my Jade back unconscious. I sent a medic to him first thing this morning, and he came back with some news that I’d like to have explained.”

I sighed. “Here isn’t the place to talk. We should head up to his rooms, or yours, if you’d rather.”

He nodded, turning and heading back to the palace. I followed without a word.

“By the way, your clothes are done. And I’ve made some for Jade too, if you think you can talk him into wearing them.”

I rolled my eyes. “I take it we’re heading to your rooms, then?”

“No, I had them delivered when the medic went to see Jade. You must have gotten a very early start if he missed you.”

I snorted. “Kairi and Sync’s sleeping schedule must finally be wearing off on me.” He chuckled at that.

The two of us stepped into Jade’s apartments fifteen minutes later, and I crossed my arms, striding over to Jade and literally pushing him into the nearest chair. “Sit, stay, you shouldn’t be up as it is. Damn. I didn’t expect you awake for another day or two,” I ordered, mumbling the last part. Jade gave me a half-hearted glare.

“Why are we back in Grand Chokmah? Engeve—“

“Is being taken care of by people who don’t have mass amounts of miasma in their bodies. Besides, you’re dead weight with the state you’re in.”

Jade’s attempt at a glare softened, and I turned back to the emperor. “I take it the miasma is what you were informed of?” I asked, since he didn’t look surprised. He nodded.

“The miasma... and his sudden status as a seventh fonist.”

“What?!”

I flinched, before looking back at Jade. “That... Alright. I guess I should start from the beginning.” I glanced at Emperor Peony, who sat down on the couch, and sighed as I moved so I could see both of them. “We went to Shurrey Hill to see if we could stop St. Binah from sinking into the mantle. I let Jade fix the passage ring after we’d gotten it opened. But the passage ring is pulling up contaminated seventh fonons from the core, and it dumps those into the nearest human body twice. Once when we start the terminal up, and again when we shut it down.”

“Asch took the first dose, then let me open the valve. I also disabled Van’s lock. The only one protecting the passage ring now is the Yulian Seal. At any rate... Well, Asch did tell me not to take my hand off the terminal. I just figured that since I was done, it would be fine if it closed and locked back up. I didn’t know about the miasma,” Jade said. I sighed.

“Unfortunately... Once we got back to the Albiore, not only was your body taking the brunt of the miasma, but your fonslots were reacting negatively to the insane amounts of seventh fonons. I’m glad Kairi told me how to force the mutation present in the fonslots of seventh fonists, because you’d be long dead by now if she hadn’t. Of course, if there’s a way to undo it, I don’t know it. Besides, if you’re going to be stubborn and continue operating the sephiroth, you’re going to need it to stay in place,” I said, noting the expressions across Jade’s face as I went. He obviously hadn’t been happy about being a seventh fonist, which I could understand, since Kairi had told me what had happened with him and Professor Nebillim, but still.

“So Jade’s stuck as a seventh fonist?” the emperor asked. I shrugged.

“I don’t know. Kairi might be able to reverse the mutation, but I don’t want to risk it. I’m not as good with Energies as she is.”

“Which reminds me. You still need to teach me how to flush the miasma out of my system,” Jade noted. I  nodded.

“I know. I haven’t had a chance to flush my body either.”

“Is that one of my sweatshirts?”

“My shirt was in shreds.”

The emperor laughed at the odd turn our conversation had taken and grabbed the two bundles next to him. I noted that both were dark brown in color, though one seemed to have a bit of dull red through it. I sighed, assuming that one was mine. Sure enough, it got tossed to me, the other practically smacking Jade in the face.

“Here. And before either of you grumble, remember that this is partially Kairi’s fault.”

Jade made a face. “Asch, I can understand, but why me?”

The blonde monarch grinned. “Oh, just a conversation we had a long time ago. I think you might actually like those.”

“And anyway, it’s not like you can be running around in your uniform when we join up with the others. People will wonder why there are suddenly two of Colonel Curtiss,” I added. Jade looked up at me before his eyes narrowed.

“He didn’t.”

“Before you murder Seth, it was my idea,” I said. “There’s no way they’re getting the citizens of Engeve out without a Malkuth officer present.”

Jade was silent for a moment before he sighed, looked at the bundle, and reluctantly headed into his bedroom. I headed for the bathroom after nodding to the emperor.

Pulling the bundle apart was one thing, and I noted with some amusement that Kairi and Peony really did have some taste. Although the tough leather armor that was neatly stitched into the black pants in something of a scale design had probably been Kairi’s idea.

I pulled those on first, then a gray turtleneck. Gray, fingerless gloves fell out from the folded top, and I ended up pulling those on next. Then a pair of bell-rimmed boots. These were dark brown, with red around the bottom edge of the fold.

That just left the red-lined brown coat and the belt. I examined the coat a moment before deciding to put the belt on first. The coat was then pulled on, tails nearly reaching my ankles in back. There was a very definite gap in the front, making it obvious that it wasn’t supposed to close all the way. That was fine. Black laces kept it closed enough.

I stepped out and noted that Jade had somehow changed faster than I had. I couldn’t help but smirk a bit.

“Not bad.”

Jade had his hands shoved in the pockets of a dark brown cloak. “No, it isn’t, really. I’m still planning on foisting them off on Seth the moment we find him, though.”

The emperor chuckled. “Well, I’m heading back to my project room. Will you guys be seeing Kairi soon? Hers are done, too.”

I frowned. “Honestly? It would probably be best if you held onto hers. She’s... not with the rest of the group, so we might not see each other again for weeks.”

He nodded and left then, and I sighed and looked at Jade, who was giving me a very pointed look. I groaned softly and sat down in a chair, closing my eyes. “Sit, get comfortable, and remember that I’m not as crazy as I sound.”

Jade chuckled a bit, and I heard shifting fabric. I took a deep breath and thought back to Baticul, to Kairi explaining to Dark how to come onto the second plane. I’d figured it out on my own while stuck in her body, and she’d taught Sync when I wasn’t there.

“Please tell me you’ve meditated before,” I muttered.

“Yes. My adoptive parents forced me through it after...” he trailed off, and I sighed.

“Good. This is similar to that. You’re looking inside yourself. Kairi always says to look for a light... I guess that’s what hers is? Well, whatever you’re looking for, it’s going to be a little different than everything else. Calmer, steady... Don’t tell me when you’ve found it. Just hold onto it.”

I went ahead and reached inside myself. Digging through my spirit felt like trying to swim in a hurricane. Finding my center was the calm part, the eye of the storm.

I stepped out of my body and glanced at Jade. A moment later, something shifted, and I smiled.

*You can hear me, can’t you? Don’t reply out loud, you’ll knock yourself back off of this plane.*

Jade’s eyes seemed open and closed at the same time, and then he stood up, eyes dancing around in wonder.

*This is...?*

*Yeah. Kairi and I can use the poison-flushing trick without leaving our bodies, but you and Sync don’t have enough spirit Energies for that,* I explained. Jade turned to look at me again, and I waved my hand around. Energies trailed after my hand, and once I’d collected up the water, moon, and sun Energies I needed, I paused. I pulled a few fire Energies over as well.

*I’m starting to understand now what Kairi meant about fonons being mutated Energies,* Jade commented, randomly drawing a few of the glowing orbs in. Mostly earth Energies, I noted. He looked over at what I was collecting, letting those he’d gathered float off again. *Water Energies for cleansing...*

I blinked. *You know, or you’re just guessing?*

*Kairi mentioned it in Akzeriuth, when she was cleaning up the gash in my leg.*

I nodded. *I see. The fire Energies have a similar purpose here. They lend strength to the water, which is why this works on the miasma where regular antidotes wouldn’t.*

*And the silver and gold?*

*Moon and sun Energies. Moon Energies give the lesser Energies shape, sun Energies give them solidity.*

The rest of the next two hours went something like this, with Jade either making observations or asking questions and me doing my best to keep up with him. Some of what he wanted to know was stuff that I’d never even thought about before, while other parts were things that I realized I did so instinctually that I didn’t even know _how_ I was doing.

It was a rather interesting experience, to say the least. And we did, at least, manage to get all of the miasma out of our systems.

The two of us were sitting in the emperor’s quarters that evening eating with aforementioned monarch when Jade brought up the question I’d been waiting for since he had woken up.

“When are we going to go rejoin the others?”

I frowned and thought about it. It had been two days or so since we’d been dropped off. It would take us at least two days, possibly three to get to Chesedonia if we hurried and left the next morning. So...

“We’re leaving tomorrow at ten. That’ll give us enough time to recover from the miasma and restock our supplies,” I said. “I’m down to twenty orange gels in my wing pack, I’m out of apple gels, and I’ve only got two or three each pineapple and lemon gels. I’m completely out of life bottles, too, and I’ve got maybe five panacea bottles.”

Jade frowned and slipped a hand into his pocket, going through his own wing pack before making a face and nodding. “Right... Any clue how much the others have on them?”

I shook my head. “No, but it wouldn’t have been much. Remember in the Zao Ruins, when we re-organized everyone’s items?”

Emperor Peony raised an eyebrow. “I’m confused,” he stated quite plainly. I sighed.

“Kairi, Sync and I set up a system while we were traveling, something that Reighn and more recently Jade and Dark have picked up as well. Based on whether someone’s a melee fighter or a fonist, the order’s different, but the numbers are the same. Five, ten, ten, fifteen, three, five. Assuming I’m rooting through Jade’s bag, since he’s a fonist, those numbers are for lemon gels, apple gels, pineapple gels, orange gels, panacea bottles, and life bottles,” I explained. “But that’s completely discounting what’s in our wing packs.”

“We pull gels and bottles out of wing packs when we have a chance to replenish the items in our bags. I think at one point, Asch, Reighn, Dark and I had something like a hundred apple gels between us in our wing packs,” Jade added.

Emperor Peony nodded. “Right... That makes sense.”

Jade sighed and looked over at me. “Well? Should we start making a list?”

I groaned. “You do that, I need to count gald.” Between monsters and everything else... it really, really needed to be done.

Jade made a face. “I’ll get to work then.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I’m having fun differentiating between everyone’s centers. Kairi’s is a light (so is Sync’s, interestingly enough), Asch’s is the eye of hurricane, Dark’s is warmth among ice... Wonder what Jade’s is...?_


	54. Chapter 6.1 - Conflicts and Sidequests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. Some day I'll get ahead on these.

_“I can’t believe you people.” –Sync_

_“Dark’s right. I’d even suggest ditching him if he were wearing a Kimlascan officer’s uniform like he’s supposed to.” –Reighn_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

Asch and Jade’s departure was a quiet one, mostly because Jade was unconscious and Asch was in no shape to be arguing. Seth, being only a few inches shorter than Jade, had filched one of his uniforms, as well as his spare glasses, while I explained everything I could remember about what had happened the last time we were in Engeve.

Seth may have preferred a different weapon—he called it a sparrow-blade?—but if he could pass off as the colonel, then we’d use that to our advantage. Besides, the both of them were fonists first and foremost.

Noelle had us flying over Rugnica Plains when Natalia pointed out the obvious.

“They’re fighting.”

Tear nodded. “Yes. That would make evacuating Engeve difficult even if the land weren’t about to fall.”

“We have to do something!” Natalia cried. “All those soldiers... They have families, too! We have to get the generals in charge to call a ceasefire!”

I crossed my arms. “And how do you plan to do that? I don’t have the authority to order that, and we can’t say for sure where the Kimlascan commander is. Seth might be able to talk General Frings into a ceasefire, but...” I trailed off. Reighn crossed his arms.

“Sync’s still got an extra set of Ion’s robes.”

“No.”

I sighed. Count on Sync to shoot that idea down immediately. Well...

I frowned and thought about it. True, Sync hated the title of Fon Master, but...

“Get over it,” I snapped. “Sync, Reighn, Natalia, Guy, and I will go to Kaitzur. Count Almandine should be there, he should be the one in charge of the Kimlascan army. Natalia and Sync, posing as Ion, can order a ceasefire from there. Tear, Ion, Anise, Selenia, and Seth posing as Jade will go to Engeve.”

“What?!” Sync sounded like he was whining, and I rolled my eyes.

“Listen. Selenia is the daughter of General Glenn McGovern. Colonel Jade Curtiss isn’t just an officer of the Third Division, he’s in charge of it. Tear, Luke, and I got caught up in the mess with the cheagles, Rose should recognize Tear. And with you and Ion both acting as Ion in two places at once, Anise, the Fon Master Guardian they’re familiar with, will be more helpful. Besides, I’m sending both ligers with you,” I said. “But Natalia needs to go to the Kimlascans, and I’m going with her to confirm her identity. Guy’s coming to confirm that Luke is alive. If anyone asks, we’ll say he’s helping you guys. And, again. We need Ion. He can’t really be in two places at once.”

Sync stared at me, expression unreadable, before Ion took a deep breath and nodded.

“Dark’s right.”

Sync groaned. “I can’t believe you people.” He stood, grabbing his bag and heading off further into the Albiore. I sighed.

Tear crossed her arms. “Why not send Sync and Reighn with us instead? We could use the fighters to help defend the civilians.”

“Except the citizens of Engeve would find it strange that I’m suddenly fighting myself instead of letting my Fon Master Guard do it,” Ion said. “Although I’m quite tempted to ask Sync if he’ll help me learn a little self-defense. I feel bad watching all of you fight for me.”

Reighn crossed his arms. “With your weak constitution, I’d rather you asked Dark. Sync, and Zion before him, are both short-range fighters. Their bodies can take the stress. Yours can’t. You’d be better suited to something like the fonic guns Dark uses.”

Ion looked up at me hopefully, and I sighed. “I’ll think about it. Right now certainly isn’t the time to be worrying about that. Besides, if Seth can pull off his Jade act well enough, he should be able to commandeer a platoon or two to guard your rear.”

Tear nodded, and Sync walked back into the cockpit, dressed up like an almost perfect mirror of Ion.

Except for his hair, which was still in its classic, gravity-defying, spiked-forward do. I sighed, and he scowled.

“I’ll fix my hair later,” he grumbled.

“Where should I go first?” Noelle asked from the front. I crossed my arms.

“Kaitzur. Then take the evacuation group to Engeve. See if you can’t transport the children, elderly, and wounded to Chesedonia. That should make things a bit less dangerous for them,” I said. Reighn was pulling something out of his wing pack, and I couldn’t help but stare when I saw what he’d extracted. “Is that...?”

“My old uniform. I haven’t actually grown much in the last few years, it should still fit me,” he said, already heading back to the cabins to change. Ion smiled a bit before walking over to Sync and messing with his hair. The older replica grumbled some, but didn’t stop him. I noted with some amusement that Ion hadn’t cut his hair in some time. His bangs were practically covering his eyes now, and he kept brushing them off to one side.

A few moments later, and Sync and Ion could have passed themselves off as reflections... Except for the fact that Sync’s side-bangs were an inch or so shorter, anyway.

Perfect matches... right down to the way they kept brushing their bangs out of the way. Well, and the staff Ion carried around. I swear that thing was missing half the time and then there the other half.

Reighn came back in, and I noted that a few people stared a moment. He crossed his arms. “What?”

I smirked, having finally figured out why he seemed to like the light blue slacks so much. They covered his usual black boots, while a white, sleeveless turtleneck had taken the place of his long-sleeved dark gray one. A blue tabard, the same sky blue as his old coat had been, had silvery designs on it that were almost identical to those on Anise’s. What looked almost like a silver cloak was actually attached to the tabard, swallowtail ends draping down Reighn’s back. Dark blue outlined it. Equally dark blue sleeves were held up by silver, probably elastic, and black, fingerless gloves peeked out from under the equally silver cuffs.

“You look... very different, all dressed up like that,” Tear said.

“We’re five minutes from Kaitzur. The negotiating party should probably head for the hatch with someone to tell me you’re off,” Noelle said. I sighed and pushed away from the wall I’d been leaning against. I glanced down at Twilight and Sorylle. The sea-green liger was asleep still.

“Take care of her for me?”

Twilight lifted his head slightly from where it had been resting across Sorylle’s shoulders. “I will. Don’t die.”

I smirked and walked off, heading for the hatch. Natalia, Sync, Ion, and Reighn were ahead of me. Guy followed me out. The six of us stopped just inside the hatch.

“What happens if Count Almandine can’t call a ceasefire?” Ion asked. I shrugged.

“If we can’t stop it from there, we’ll try to head back to Baticul. Even if that means crossing the battlefield on foot,” I said. The hatch opened, and I nodded to the others. Sync glanced at Ion.

“Stay safe,” I heard him mutter before he followed me off. Reighn, acting the part of his omnipresent guard, hovered behind his right shoulder. Guy stayed as close to me and Natalia as he could stand.

Once we were off, Ion headed back toward the cockpit. I glanced around. We were barely a hundred yards from the gates of Kaitzur. “Let’s go.”

Natalia nodded, leading us to the border town. Our timing must have been perfect, because there was a platoon leaving the city as we approached. Brigadier General Cecille’s eyes widened, and she stepped to the side, ordering her troops to continue forward before practically running over to us.

“First Lieutenant Daemione! Princess Natalia! Fon Master Ion!” She saluted smartly, and I reluctantly did the same. This woman was my superior, after all.

Natalia crossed her arms. “General Cecille. We need to get these men off of the battlefield. The entire area is going to fall, just like St. Binah and Akzeriuth,” she said quickly. Cecille looked uncomfortable.

“I had a feeling that was why you were here... I’m sorry. I can’t order the troops off the battlefield. General Almandine is the only one with that sort of authority.”

I crossed my arms, noting something. “You’re not even going to question how we’re alive?”

Cecille sighed. “Duke Fabre received a letter shortly after the fall of Akzeriuth from Kairi Balfour explaining everything. Though... If Guy is with you, where is Master Luke?”

Guy sighed. “We sent the other half of our group to evacuate Engeve. Luke went with them. I came with Natalia and Ion as his representative.”

Cecille nodded. “I see...” She was quiet a moment before she sighed again. “And before you ask to see General Almandine, I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do so. He’s in Chesedonia right now, seeking confirmation from the Order of Lorelei that this is justified retribution. No one seems to be listening to the Duke at court when he says that the princess and his son are both alive.”

Sync frowned. “That’s not right. Mohs doesn’t have the authority to officially sanction aggression. Only the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei has that ability,” he said. Reighn sighed.

“And how often does Mohs disregard your position?”

Sync nodded. “True, unfortunately.” He paused a moment to look thoughtful. “We have to stop this fighting before the land falls.”

“I can’t let you cross the battlefield, and it’s too dangerous to send you out by sea,” Cecille said. “Please, wait here for Count Almandine’s return. I must lead my troops.”

With that, the blonde woman raced off, chasing after the men who had gone on ahead before. The five of us glanced between each other, before Sync double-checked the area around him and crossed his arms. “We’re going, aren’t we?”

Natalia looked at me, and I shrugged. “It’s a battle field. It won’t be easy to get across, but if we’re careful, we should be fine.”

“It’s not like we’re actually dragging Ion along, either,” Guy said. Sync nodded, holding his hand out. A small flash deposited a black dagger in his hand, and I smirked.

“So, you figured that out too.”

Sync chuckled, a dark sound that actually sent a shiver down my spine. “Yep. No way am I going to walk around unarmed. I can’t carry my usual knives because of this damn outfit, so I’ll just use these.”

Reighn rolled his eyes. “Alright. Let’s go, then, before someone tries to detain us.”

Natalia nodded, and we left Kaitzur just as quickly as we had entered it, maybe even faster. All five of us were light on our feet, fast enough to cover the ground between Kaitzur and Chesedonia in five days, if we could keep up a reasonable pace. I hadn’t set up the group like this on purpose, but it certainly helped.

The first night we made camp was boring. I took first watch, Reighn took second, Sync took third. Then we were up and going again with the sun.

The second night was a bit more amusing. Well, it started with me about shooting someone I probably shouldn’t shoot, but in hindsight, it became amusing.

_Snap!_

I lifted both guns, sharp eyes scanning the shadows around our camp. The others were still eating dinner, though my sudden movement had Natalia and Guy scrambling for their weapons. Sync shifted, indicating readiness to summon a dagger and throw it, while Reighn had picked up his scythe without a word.

I spotted a shadow moving and trained a gun on it, finger tightening on the trigger.

“Don’t shoot!”

I huffed. “Why don’t you come out of the shadows so we can see you, General Cecille?” I grumbled, lowering my guns but not putting them back yet.

The brigadier general stepped out of the shade of the trees with her hands up, away from her sword. Smart move, and part of the reason why I hadn’t shot her before she could speak. I’d seen them go up even before I recognized her voice.

“Princess Natalia, Fon Master Ion... I thought I told you to stay in Katizur. And Lieutenant Daemione, why did you let them leave?” she asked. I reluctantly put my guns away.

“As my boss, Princess Natalia outranks you, unfortunately,” I said.

Natalia nodded. “We have to stop this fighting. If that means crossing the battlefield, so be it.”

Cecille sighed. “I had a feeling you’d say that. At least allow me to assign a platoon to guard your rear. I’d feel a lot more comfortable knowing you’re protected.”

I shook my head. “No.”

Natalia blinked. “Dark?”

“We’re entering Malkuth-controlled land tomorrow, if we continue at our current pace. Brigadier General Frings and Lieutenant Colonel Miles can keep them from attacking us, especially if Colonel Curtiss made contact with them in Engeve. If we’re dragging a platoon of Kimlascan soldiers behind us, they’ll have no choice but to attack. Besides, we’ll be more noticeable if we’ve got a large group behind us,” I said. Reighn nodded.

“Dark’s right. I’d even suggest ditching him if he were wearing a Kimlascan officer’s uniform like he’s supposed to.”

I snorted, but didn’t say anything. Cecille looked conflicted, and I sighed. “Look, we shouldn’t be that far behind enemy lines tomorrow. If you’re that worried, you’re welcome to come find us. Heavens knows Frings probably will. You can talk it out then.”

She sighed and nodded. “Very well. Protect Her Highness well, Lieutenant.”

I clicked my heels and saluted. Can’t say I can’t be proper, at least.

Cecille turned and left then, and I called one last sentence after her. “Announce your presence a little sooner next time.”

I rolled my eyes and turned around, pulling my guns out and double-checking the ammunition before locking the mechanism and putting them away again.

Natalia took the first watch this time, Guy second, and me third.

As usual, our travel was boring. The soldiers we slipped past were mostly Kimlascan, though we were seeing more and more Malkuthian soldiers as we went.

The third night was a little less interesting that the second. Frings came, as I’d expected, and he brought newly-promoted Colonel Avarice Miles with him. Cecille showed up too, this time almost getting shot by Natalia. The three officers argued until Reighn butted in and managed to get them to shut up and leave.

Travel was just as boring as usual the next day.

Then came night four, which was rather a bit more interesting than anything else that had happened so far over our journey.

“We should reach Chesedonia by nightfall tomorrow,” Reighn stated.

I nodded, then swiveled on my heel and brought my guns up. Two sets of footsteps halted, and upon seeing their owners, I sighed and lowered my weapons again.

Asch and Jade.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _And Ari’s been promoted. Hmm... And someone else mentioned in this chapter is going to be getting a promotion, too... Okay, not for another twenty-some-odd chapters, but someone is going to receive a promotion. Anyone care to guess who?_


	55. Chapter 6.2 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_“They needed the manpower... monster-power? Whatever. You get the point.” –Dark_

_“Shut up. My style works just fine, thanks.” –Asch_

_And I am once again reminded that yes, Seth is younger than me. –Dark_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

“So, you two seem to have recovered,” I said, putting my guns away. “Nice outfits.”

They weren’t bad, really. They definitely suited them.

Jade sighed. “I’d tell you to blame Emperor Peony, but it was as much Kairi’s fault as his.”

Asch smirked. “Quit complaining.” He crossed his arms, glancing over all of us before giving Sync a rather baffled look. “What happened to—“

“Don’t even start,” Sync cut him off. Jade looked startled. Guess he hadn’t expected the ‘Ion’ among us to be Sync.

“If you’re here, where’s the real Ion?” he asked. Sync scowled.

“Somewhere between Engeve and Chesedonia. I’m not sure if they’re ahead of us or behind right now,” he said.

Jade nodded. “I see...”

Black flickered around Sync’s hand before it shot out, and I pulled my guns in almost the same instant. Two monsters, a bee and chirpee.

Between a Black Rose dagger and proper ammunition, they really didn’t last long.

Jade sat down rather abruptly, and Sync cried out in surprise. “I didn’t think—What—Dammit!” he cursed. Jade just chuckled, eyes closing as his breathing leveled out.

It was no wonder Sync was suddenly freaking out. After all, he had managed to nick Jade’s cheek when he threw. How, I wasn’t even sure, given that I’d have sworn the blade missed him by almost four inches, but... oh well.

Faint light surrounded the cut, and a moment later, it was gone, fading just as quickly as it had appeared. Crimson eyes opened, though Jade didn’t bother to get up. I did notice his frown, though.

“What’s wrong?” Asch asked.

Jade shook his head. “The poison was structured similarly to the miasma.”

Sync frowned and glanced at the dagger in his hand. “That can’t be right. It reacts way too fast to be miasma.”

“I said it was similar, not that it was,” Jade said, gathering his cloak around himself. He looked like the wise old hermit out of one of the fairy tales Rhunön had read for me just after my ‘birth’, to be honest. Still, his clothing gave him an undeniable aura of power... somehow.

I had the feeling it was an Earth thing, something I wouldn’t understand until I’d asked Kairi about it.

“At any rate, it looks like we’re all headed for Chesedonia. If we get lucky, we’ll have no trouble meeting up with the others. For now though, let’s just set up camp and gets some rest. Guy has first watch... Asch, Jade, do you two mind taking second and third? I was slated for second, and Reighn for third, but the two of us have already gone twice so far,” I said.

Asch nodded. “That’s fine. If I’m right, we’ll be reaching Chesedonia around nightfall tomorrow anyway. By the way, where are the ligers?”

“With the others. They won’t be able to understand each other, but they needed the manpower... monster-power? Whatever. You get the point.”

Sync chuckled, sitting down and messing around with his daggers, something that had become a bit of a habit lately. Then his eyes widened, and the next thing I knew, he was digging around in his wing pack for something.

A large, heavy book that I recognized from Natalia giving to Kairi most of a year previously dropped on the ground, Sync almost frantically digging through its pages.

“Is that the book on strike artes I gave Kairi?” Natalia asked, apparently also recognizing it. Sync nodded.

“Yeah. And I think I just figured out how I hit Jade when that dagger flew well past him. Ah! Here it is...”

Asch raised an eyebrow. “Shadow Daggers? But I thought...” he trailed off. Sync nodded once.

“Yeah. I could never do it before, even right before Zion messed up my fonslots. I just didn’t have the affinity for the first fonon that I needed to pull it off. And even having done it just now, I don’t think I’d be able to pull it off using my regular knives,” Sync said. “Which means the Black Rose set has that strike arte associated with it. Knowing that... The chances that Silver Clematis also has one...”

Jade crossed his arms. “Shadow is the element you have the most difficulty with, isn’t it? Look under sword artes for those directly associated with wind. I noticed something odd about Silver Clematis when Kairi and I were breaking out of Daath. If I’m right, one of those artes should work perfectly with Kairi’s sword style.”

Sync started flipping through pages again, back to one of the colored bookmarks that had been placed. There were three, it looked like—one green, one red, one purple. Sync had jumped to the green before checking pages for the Shadow Daggers arte, which meant...

“The purple bookmark is for archery-based strike artes, yes?” I guessed. Sync looked up at me and nodded before going back to flipping through pages just after the red one. He paused after a quite a while.

“Here. The section on third-fonon strike artes is small, but it’s here.”

Asch, Jade, and I gathered around, while Natalia and Guy helped Reighn finish our dinner. Asch knocked a number of them off the list almost immediately, before Jade pointed one out. Asch and Sync frowned, the former making a motion with his hand before shaking his head. “No, the damage isn’t worth the extra expenditure of energy it would take for her to pull that off, not with her usual style.”

I was the next one to point one out. “Now, I know I’m definitely no expert on sword styles, and especially not Kairi’s, but doesn’t that sound like something she’d do to knock a group away from her?” I asked. The other three looked over it, before Asch frowned, took a second look, and stood up to do a small demonstration.

While it ended with him landing on his ass, much to the amusement of the three of us who knew what he’d been doing, it proved a point.

“That’s definitely Kairi’s style... Although she’s at least graceful enough to pull it off,” Sync said. Asch scowled.

“Shut up. My style works just fine, thanks.”

Jade just smirked and adjusted his glasses, in time for Reighn to call us over for dinner.

“What was with that spinning thing you were doing? Were you working on a new arte?” Natalia asked. Asch shook his head.

“No, not really. I was having trouble trying to picture what it was supposed to look like, so I tried it out. Unfortunately, it’s a completely different sword style, so for someone who’s used to the hack-and-slash of the Albert style, a sudden attempt at the fluidity of the style Kairi uses resulted in a not-so-graceful landing,” he admitted. “It’ll look a lot better when _she_ does it.”

I nodded. “Hell, Guy would have an easier time. His Sigmund style may have been based on the Albert style originally, but it’s one hell of a lot closer to Kairi’s than your Albert style,” I said.

Guy blinked. “What is it?”

“Rising Wind.”

Reighn frowned. “I thought Kairi and third fonons didn’t get along?”

Jade nodded. “Yes, but if we’re right, it won’t matter, so long as she’s using Silver Clematis. Of course, if we’re wrong, it just means one less arte at her disposal.”

I sighed, finishing my dinner and handing the bowl over to Natalia. She and Sync were on cooking and clean-up duty tonight, since the rest of us were supposed to be on guard duty. Of course, that plan had been pretty much scrapped with Asch and Jade joining in. Still, she took it without arguing, and I wandered off to my bag, happy to be able to hit the sack knowing I wouldn’t be woken up for a shift.

Waking up that morning was interesting. Asch was the one awake as our guard, surprisingly, but he didn’t make a single comment as I started pulling a small breakfast together.

“Bag and wing pack.”

I blinked up at Jade as I finished with the food, noting that he had his hand held out. I passed the two items over, figuring that he and Asch had probably done a bit of stocking up while in Grand Chokmah. A few minutes later, and everyone else awake and eating, Asch and Jade started handing back bags and wing packs.

Sure enough, I was back to my usual ten apple gels, five lemon gels, fifteen orange gels, ten pineapple gels, three panacea bottles, and five life bottles. I glanced in my wing pack. Enough to replace those in my bag twice over. Well... for the gels, at least.

“Everyone’s got their usual numbers. Jade and I have all of the extra gels in our wing packs. Reighn and Dark now have all of the extra bottles,” Asch announced. Everyone just kinda nodded, while I glanced at the numbers of bottles again. I mean, I know we’re going to have to distribute extras to the other group, but...

“The four of us are also carrying enough extras to refill everyone’s bags thrice over, in addition to extras you’re all carrying,” Jade added. “Better safe than sorry, especially given how close we came with this last round. Prices are lower in Grand Chokmah than anywhere else right now due to our habit of stockpiling during times of peace and then barricading ourselves in the moment war breaks out. With the war starting, they’re going to skyrocket everywhere else, even Chesedonia. We may not get another chance to restock for a while.”

Reighn nodded, while I sighed. Now there’s an angle I hadn’t looked at yet. Well, points to those two for being extra prepared. Still...

“Where did all of the money come from, though? This kind of a restock must have cost thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of gald!” Guy said. Asch and Jade exchanged a look.

“Kairi, Sync, and I had a habit of rarely using the gald we got off of monsters... Kairi and I were joking about it on our way to Grand Chokmah the second time, but... I went ahead and opened a bank account while we were there. Between what the two of us have been sending to Nephry to have deposited and interest, we had almost a million gald saved up, not counting the fifty or so thousand we’ve been carrying between the three of us these days. And that million gald is nothing compared to what Jade has access to as the last surviving member of the Curtiss family. Rather than just letting it sit around, we decided to make good use of it.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “Regardless, we shouldn’t do that too often. We’d have wiped out nearly a third of the savings in Asch’s account if he’d been the only one paying. Still, better safe than sorry. We don’t know exactly what we’re getting into. Now, if you’re all done eating, it may be a good idea to head for Chesedonia.”

The rest of us nodded and stood up. I double-checked my guns before slipping them back into their holsters. Once everyone was standing, I started walking. Asch and Jade fell in behind Natalia and Reighn, since they (correctly) assumed we already had a set formation. No need to change a good thing, right?

The final day of travel was as boring as those that had preceded it. We made it to Chesedonia just before sunset. I stopped and turned to the others. “The Malkuth-side inn is closer. Let’s check there and see if the others made it already or not. Logically, that’s where they’ll be checking in as well.”

The others nodded, while Natalia smiled. “Dark, thank you. Your careful choice of routes got us here without any fighting.”

I shrugged. “Maybe, but General Cecille really should learn not to sneak up on us.”

Those of us who had been there laughed a bit before we all turned around and headed for the inn.

We weren’t there for thirty minutes when the other group came running in, Sorylle immediately pouncing on me. I grinned when I recognized her.

“Hey, gal. You been good?”

Sorylle nodded and licked my face before letting me up, while Seth crossed his arms, ignoring Jade for the time being.

“I thought you were in Kaitzur,” he said. I cringed.

“General Almandine’s here in Chesedonia. We’re planning on dealing with him in the morning.”

“I see...” Seth trailed off a bit as his eyes drifted off toward Jade. “Nice clothes.”

Jade crossed his arms. “They’re yours as soon as I’ve got my uniform back.”

Seth blinked a few times before smiling. “Cool.”

And I am once again reminded that yes, this kid is younger than me.

“We already booked enough rooms for everyone. Two to a room,” I announced. “And no co-ed,” I added, seeing Anise glance at Ion.

“I’ll share with Sync,” Ion said quickly. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“Seth and I will take one room as well, since we need to switch clothes.”

Natalia glanced around. “Tear? Do you mind sharing with me?”

Tear smiled and shook her head, and Selenia looked over at Anise with a grin. “Guess that leaves you and me, huh? Hey, where’s Sorylle gonna stay?”

“With Natalia and Tear,” I said quickly. “Asch, Guy, Reighn? Who’s staying where?”

“I want to talk to Asch about something,” Guy said. “You three don’t mind, do you?”

Reighn shook his head. “Not at all. But where’s Twilight going to stay?”

Everyone looked over at the silver-furred liger as he thought it over.

“Asch. I’ll stay with Asch for the night.”

I nodded once. “Looks like Asch and Guy get to share.” I glanced around. “It’s getting late. We’ve got a lot to do in the morning. Don’t stay up too late talking to whoever you’re sharing with, okay?”

I headed up to one of the rooms we’d paid for and slipped inside. Something felt wrong, and it was making me uneasy.

I sat down on the bed and started pulling my guns apart, before stopping and leaving one alone for the time being. Reighn walked in a few minutes later and started undressing.

“Something wrong?” he asked as I was putting the first gun back together after cleaning it. I frowned, locking the mechanism in place and letting it whir back to life.

“I don’t know. Something feels wrong, but I don’t know what could be causing it.”

“Could just be nerves. We covered a lot of ground in a small amount of time.”

I hummed. “Maybe.”

I set about cleaning the second gun without another word, while Reighn slipped under the covers. I glanced over at him, then thought about the twelve people currently split into groups of two in the inn.

Why did I have the suspicion that the group wouldn’t be whole for much longer?

I forced it aside and put my guns away before pulling the covers up falling asleep.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Not-so-subtle foreshadowing there... Anyway... I was so excited when I finished this chapter that I completely forgot what I’d meant to do next... So I wrote ‘Dark’s POV’ at the top of the next chapter, stared at it for ten minutes, and_ THEN _realized that the next chapter was from Kairi’s POV again... Anyone starting to miss Kairi yet?_


	56. Chapter 6.3 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_I was rather grateful that Lloyd didn’t exist in Tales of the Abyss. Van would likely murder him. –Kairi_

* * *

I scowled at the back of Van’s head. “Really?”

“Yes,” came the blunt reply. I growled something that was probably not at all flattering and crossed my arms, walking along behind him without another complaint.

Sealed fonslots, Zion blasting my Energy control every time I tried to used those to cast artes, no weapons... The only time I was allowed to use Energies at all was when I was helping Luke learn to use fonic artes. And even then, I couldn’t cast artes myself, just keep track of what Luke was doing.

Needless to say, I was irritated.

I sighed and looked around. We’d been traveling non-stop since Meggiora Highlands, making a pit stop in Tataroo Valley on our way through. They’d sealed off the passage ring there, or tried to, at least. It hadn’t taken much for me to completely irritate Van by changing my part of the lock before he could do anything more to the passage ring. And, while Zion did know I was from another world, he had no idea what Tales of the Abyss was... Let alone Tales of Symphonia.

 _“So, what does Lloyd Irving mean?”_ Luke had asked sometime later, when Van wasn’t within earshot. I was rather grateful that Lloyd didn’t exist in Tales of the Abyss. Van would likely murder him.

 _“It’s a person.”_ That was all the explanation I’d given to Luke. And he had let the matter drop. He was getting better at figuring that out.

Then, of course, he had started asking about Asch. I’d reluctantly started telling him the whole story, from the beginning. Meeting Nephry, saving Sync, pissing Asch off, being teleported to Aramis Spring via hyperresonance (I left out being stuck in the same body, as usual)... I’d only tell him when Van was preoccupied, so I was just getting to our second visit to Grand Chokmah, but Luke didn’t seem to mind.

Still, it amused me to be back in the Cheagle Woods. Zion said we were just passing through on our way to the Northern Forest. Didn’t Star say they had a base up here? Guess that makes sense.

Zion, who had been talking to Van, groaned and walked over to me. I looked up at him, waiting patiently for the complaint that was sure to come. “Can you use that bow to hunt as well as fight?” he asked. Yep, definitely irritated.

I nodded. “Yes. Why?”

He walked off for a moment before returning with my bow and three arrows. “Let’s go. We’re running out of meat.”

The bow was practically tossed at my face, while he was nice enough to at least hold the arrows out. I grabbed everything and settled into my usual stance, turning and heading off into the darkening forest.

Zion followed behind me, wise enough to not make a lot of noise. I kept close track on his Energy Core as I slipped halfway onto the second plane.

A couple of small Energy Cores darted here and there, but glances told me those were cheagles. While I doubt Zion or Van would have any problems eating a cheagle, Luke, who really did like the little blue one that was almost always hiding in his bag nowadays, wouldn’t be so open to such a thing.

Then I spotted a much larger Energy Core, and I stopped, holding the nocked arrow and the two extras in place with the hand holding the bow while the other came up in what was pretty much a universal ‘stop’ sign.

The footsteps behind me paused, while I considered my prey. I’d never brought back anything larger than a wild cat before. This was a... well, I wasn’t sure what to call it. It looked... almost like a miniature giraffe... with a slightly shorter neck.

I poked Zion telepathically, and he reluctantly let me open a channel. *Yes?*

I sent an image of the animal to him, and felt, quite clearly, his surprise. *Sure... If we don’t kill it, I’m sure the ligers will. How the hell did that get here...?*

I smirked, raising my bow and aiming for the animal’s heart. Three, two...

_Twang!_

A nice, liquid-sounding thunk told me I’d hit home even if the animal had gone to jump away. I ran in, already collecting Energies.

One hoofed leg almost caught me in the knee before I dropped down on top of it and put my hand around the arrow. The animal lay still then, heart stopped by the sudden influx of earth Energies.

“Nice. And Van said letting you hunt was a bad idea...” Zion commented, walking up. I smirked and noted that my arrow was gone. Probably back to the quiver. In that case...

I stood, nocked both arrows, and aimed for a nearby tree. One hit it, the other hit a tree behind it. I didn’t care, really, since they both disappeared a moment later. My bow was then tossed to Zion, while I tied off the animal’s legs and lifted it. Zion crossed his arms.

“You could have asked for help, you know.”

I gave him an irritated look. “March.”

He apparently decided that arguing with me wasn’t the greatest of ideas at that moment, and turned to walk off. I followed him quietly.

Luke and Van looked up from their sword practice, Luke practically dropping his sword when he spotted the... whatever it was... over my shoulders. Van raised an eyebrow, but nodded appreciatively.

“Luke, work on your fonic artes with Kairi. Zion and I will prepare dinner.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled the redhead off to the side to start practicing. Of course, we weren’t doing that long before a low growling caught my attention. I froze and looked around, spotting the gray fur almost immediately.

It took every ounce of my self-control to not race over to the liger and throw my arms around it. A good thing, too, as the warm brown eyes I’d usually associate with Koran were clouded, cold, and more of a red-brown than the soft brown I missed.

Beyond that, there didn’t seem to be any difference between this liger and Koran. Everything, from the colors to the jagged markings, was identical.

So, Koran was a replica as well as Dark.

I reached out telepathically, only to find a wall of hatred and pain between me and this liger’s mind.

“Enough, Kallig.”

My eyes shifted as a familiar figure in black stepped out into the open. Danté. I should have figured. Venomous green eyes locked on me, before Danté walked over to the campfire, kneeling next to Zion. I let myself drop to the ground, wandering over on the second plane where I wouldn’t be noticed.

“Rhunön’s got everything set up,” Danté said. Zion nodded, then frowned.

“She said you were leaving on a personal venture.”

“Yes.”

Zion sighed. “Which means you left Dark half-dead again. Yes?”

“No.”

Zion and I both seemed confused, although Zion didn’t know I was there.

“Kairi’s going to have some company, at least. Well... Assuming the replication process doesn’t kill the girl before we get Kairi there.”

Zion huffed. “You took the princess.”

Danté smirked. “You objecting?”

It was quiet for a while before green-haired teen replied.

“If Natalia dies at our hands, we could have a lot of trouble to deal with.”

“So find a lab somewhere in Malkuth and dump her there.”

“Blame it on Malkuth... Yes, that could work.”

I’d heard enough, and I snapped back to my body and opened my eyes. Luke was crouched in front of me, looking conflicted. Damn. He could give everything away. Of course, he could also be my best ally. Curse him for being so irritatingly indecisive.

“Well?”

“They’ve replicated Natalia. She may not survive the week. They’re planning on dumping her body in a Malkuth lab to blame her death on Malkuth scientists,” I replied. I decided almost immediately that I’d made the correct decision.

“So how are we going to get her out?” he asked.

I frowned. “If she’s still alive when we get there, I should be able to help. There isn’t much I can’t fix while on the second plane, given enough time. But if she’s already dead when we get there, you have to get the replica out.”

Luke nodded. “I should probably grab her and run regardless of whether you can heal Natalia or not,” he said. I stood and looked over at the campfire before sighing.

“We should head over,” I said. Luke nodded, reluctantly following me. We’d timed it just right. Van had just finished our dinner for the night, and had, after a few moments’ contemplation, given some extra meat to Kallig.

I found myself waking up to the familiar feeling of morphine wearing off. It bothered me that it was now familiar. No thanks to Asch being paranoid... Wait. Asch wasn’t in the group.

I slipped out of my body faster than I’d done in weeks, turning and flushing the morphine within a few minutes. Then I started looking around.

I was in a cell. It wasn’t just a hole in the ground this time, it was a real prison cell. Albeit, one with one wall that was entirely metal bars with a door breaking the monotony of it.

I stepped through the bars, ignoring the shudder that ran down my spine at the feeling, and started looking around. I didn’t make it far before a door slammed somewhere above me and the flickering light of a torch caught my eye. I noted the direction the torch was coming from before reluctantly wandering toward it.

Then I saw her. She was flickering, but she was still alive. And conscious.

Danté stopped in front of her cell, holding the torch aloft.

“Dark won’t let you get away with this!” Natalia said, trying to sound indignant, I’m sure. But her scratchy voice and breathlessness took away the effect. Danté snorted.

“I’d like to see him try,” he scoffed, already turning and walking toward me. I jumped to the side, avoiding being walked through by an inch, and then followed him.

Danté stopped in front of my cell, pulling a ring of keys out of his coat pocket and unlocking the door. I frowned as he stepped in, set the torch in a holder in the wall, and then hefted my body over his shoulder, keeping me in place with one arm while taking up the torch again with the other.

Given my options, I really had no choice but to follow him. Still, it bothered me that he was so casually carrying me through these halls. Especially if...

Realization hit me like a freight train, and I ran up ahead a little bit before coming to a crossroads. I cursed, forced to wait for Danté to choose the correct path.

He made a turn to the right, and I ran down that hallway. Down some steps, still no doors... crap!

I froze, backpedalling a few feet and forcibly re-stabilizing my Energy Core. I’d almost run right out of my range. Damn...

I started moving again, walking at about the same pace Danté had been moving at earlier. There was another turn up ahead, but it wasn’t a split in the path, so I was able to safely take the turn.

This hallway was lit with torches every five feet or so. I paused a moment, noting doors here and there. I didn’t want to keep going if Danté was going to go through one of them.

The assassin put the torch he’d been carrying in one of the empty holders near the turn and shifted my body from his shoulder so he was carrying my bridal style. He didn’t seem interested by any of the doors in this hallway, continuing to walk down it like they didn’t matter. I went ahead again, finding another turn, a short hallway, and then a third turn. At the end of that short hallway was another door. Danté was close enough, so I reluctantly stepped through the door.

What I saw on the other side confirmed my initial concerns. A woman with short brown hair and gold eyes sat in a chair (thankfully not a floating one) in front of a console similar to those in Yulia City’s underbelly.

An all-too familiar machine stood nearby, while a girl with red-streaked light brown hair stood near the woman. The girl looked familiar... And then I realized why.

*Natalia... You’re her replica? But why...* I trailed off, realizing that the woman had to be Rhunön. So, she’d modified Natalia’s replica data. But what else had she done? The streaks were obviously from Asch’s hair color. Her eyes were Natalia’s hazel, but... The brown hair?

“Where’s my sister?” the Natalia replica asked, sounding much younger than Natalia did. Rhunön turned and looked at her with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Meryl. We have to remove your sister from the woman imprisoning her first. Then you’ll have Mirage back.”

I felt ice run through my veins. Mirage... That was the name Zion had given me when Van gave me amnesia. And Danté was bringing me, my body, here...

Jade’s fears were about to come true.

“Big sister!” The Natalia replica (hadn’t Rhunön called her Meryl?) ran over to Danté as he walked in. Danté scowled.

“Move, Meryl. We can’t extract Mirage if you’re in the way.”

Meryl stepped to the side, and I crossed my arms. Wait, what was going on? This replica wasn’t acting like a newborn. In fact, she was acting like...

“Meryl, why don’t you go get the clothes we prepared for your sister?” Rhunön suggested. Meryl smiled and ran off through the door, while Rhunön’s smile turned into a scowl. “A month, Danté. It took me almost a month to write up all of the false memory coding for the Otherworlder’s replica, and then you just had to throw a wrench in the plans by having me replicate Natalia.”

Danté smirked, placing me on the platform. “You’re complaining? I’d have thought you would enjoy the challenge.”

Rhunön huffed. “If I’d had more than a week, yes. I’m glad Meryl is happy enough with our little amnesia ruse. But just doing that meant I had to change half a dozen lines of coding for Mirage.” She turned back around and went back to typing. “Remind me again why I never use this?”

“Because memories are a pain to code,” Danté intoned boredly. Rhunön rolled her eyes and looked over at my body.

“She’ll be out for another few hours, right?”

“Assuming her body hasn’t developed more of a tolerance to morphine than Zion is aware of,” Danté said. I snorted. If I thought I could slip past these two, I would.

Rhunön tapped a few buttons and the fomicry machine lit up.

I screamed, dropping back into my body as the machine tore me apart.

This is a Doppelganger body.

It’s not sturdy enough for this.

I lashed out in fear.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _I changed Meryl’s hair color from what it was originally. She was supposed to have Largo’s slate-colored hair... then I realized that if she looked_ nothing _like her ‘sister’, we’d probably have a couple of very suspicious replicas on our hands. O.o_


	57. Chapter 6.4 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_“She’s probably_ been _conscious.” –Zion_

_*It’s... not terribly exciting down here.* -Natalia_

_‘Damn you, Mohs.’ –Kairi_

* * *

Energies swarmed around me. In, out, lashing out against the pain, against the machine that threatened to tear me apart.

Someone else screamed, another person yelled something, and then the pain faded. The Energies refused to settle, dancing around my body wildly.

“Don’t touch her!” a male voice yelled. It sounded like Sync, but wasn’t...

Zion. That was Zion.

“What the hell was that?!” another voice, an angry voice. Danté. Danté was there too. And... Rhunön and Meryl. Where were they?

“Meryl? Are you alright?” That was Rhunön.

“Y-yes... What... Why...? Did she... big sister...”

“We got her out, Meryl. We got her out,” Rhunön said, comforting the panicking replica.

So. My replica data had been taken anyway. Somehow.

“Now what?” Another voice... Luke? “What about Kairi? Is she going to be okay?”

“Don’t touch her,” Zion warned again.

I forced my eyes open, and immediately shut them again as bright light assaulted me. Then I forced them open once more.

Energies danced around me, a wild, uncoordinated dance, and so many of them that they were visible to the naked eye. Luke stood over me, hand in front of his chest where he’d likely retracted it after Zion’s order.

“She’s conscious,” Danté said. Zion huffed.

“She’s probably _been_ conscious.”

I felt the urge to say something snarky, but couldn’t. Why couldn’t I speak? Why couldn’t I move at all?

“Zion, her body!” Luke sounded, and looked, panicked. The green-haired teen cursed.

“Dammit! This wasn’t supposed to happen. And now we can’t even touch her to stop whatever’s going on.”

What was going on? My Energy Core was completely stable, that I was sure of. But why...?

Of course. My body. My Doppelganger body.

I closed my eyes again and, with a great deal of willpower, forced myself out of my body. Multiple gasps followed this, and I glanced around. My body was, as expected, blinking in and out of existence in some places. But everyone was staring... At me. I poked at Luke’s mind gently, not wanting to alert Zion of my actions. Then I saw it.

The field of Energies! They were collecting around me, giving me form... albeit, a very fuzzy form, if what Luke saw was any indication. I turned to my body and started stabilizing it.

The Energies collapsed around me as I worked, and I realized suddenly why they were so wild. They were my body, what had separated from the rest in the violence of my replica data being taken. I pulled them into place, then slipped back into my body myself, dragging the last few hundred of them with me as I did so.

The human body contains thousands of Energies at any given time. Doppelgangers have more than twice that.

More than two-thirds of my Energies had been floating around me in the wake of replication.

I pulled myself together as forcefully as I could before the exhaustion of fixing myself finally sank in, and the world bled into blackness.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I woke again in the darkness, and groaned at the ache in my body.

“Kairi?”

The whispered name brought me back to full consciousness, even if my body refused to move more than necessary. I rolled out of my body and looked around. I was back in my cell... Or rather, a cell. Natalia had sounded far too close to be where she was last I’d checked.

I looked around, stepped out of my cell, and kept looking. Sure enough, Natalia was in the cell to my left, and I stepped in, pulling Energies together and poking her mind.

*Kairi?* she echoed. I started feeding Energies into her body and Energy Core.

*Yes?*

*They replicated you, too, didn’t they?*

*Yes. I pray, if we must be on opposite sides, I can kill her before Jade finds her.*

*What are you doing?*

Ah, so she’d noticed. *Healing you.*

Natalia was quiet for a while. *Thank you.*

Neither of us spoke for a time, as I simply filtered Energies through her body. Then, with great reluctance, I allowed myself to snap back to my body, maintaining the connection with Natalia.

*How did they end up capturing you, anyway?* I wondered.

Natalia sighed. *I... Danté caught me off-guard.*

I frowned, noting how quiet her voice seemed. Then I sighed. *Will you show me?*

*Show you?*

*Just remember it. I can do the rest.*

Natalia was reluctant, but she agreed. She didn’t seem to want to have to explain it in words, which made this easier. She started focusing on the memory, and I carefully wrapped my mind around hers, knowing full well I’d be seeing things from her point of view.

_I sighed, coming to a stop on the beach and folding my hands in front of me. I hoped Tear hadn’t been woken up by my leaving..._

_“Seems some of us are having trouble sleeping.”_

_I jumped a bit, glancing at the familiar black hair and green eye I could see before looking out over the water again. “I was just thinking...”_

_“About?”_

_“You... and Asch.”_

_I was conflicted. Asch was the boy I’d grown up with, the boy who had proposed to me as a child, the one I’d loved for years... so why was I feeling that way toward the man next to me now?_

_“I see.”_

_The cold, callous way he had said it made me turn to Dark with a frown, only to notice something I hadn’t initially seen._

_My heart rate picked up as I realized that the teen next to me wasn’t Dark, but Danté._

_I turned to run, only for Danté’s arm to lash out and grab mine. I opened my mouth. It wasn’t very dignifying, but screaming might get the attention of the ligers, at least._

_Another hand covered my mouth before the first sounds could escape, and then the hand restraining my arm moved._

_Something hit my neck before the world went black._

I frowned and pulled away from Natalia’s memories. *I see...*

Discomfort seemed to creep across the connection. *I’m sorry... That part about Asch and Dark was awkward for you, wasn’t it?*

I sighed. *Not really,* I replied. Well, it was the truth. *Do you know how long it’s been since then?*

*It’s been a few days since you got here. I think I got here a day or two before you.*

I nodded to myself. *And who all was in Chesedonia?*

*Everyone except you.*

*Asch, Sync, Dark, Reighn, Jade, Guy, you, Tear, Anise, Ion, the two ligers... Who am I missing?*

*Seth and Selenia.*

I thought that over in my head. Dark would be coming, and with Dark would come the ligers. Asch, probably, and Sync with him. And Reighn... Would Seth come?

*Dark, Sorylle, Twilight, Asch, Sync, Reighn, Seth... No, that’s too many. They wouldn’t leave the others without so many short-range fighters... Sync would probably be the one to stay behind,* I thought, letting Natalia hear it. She seemed confused, and I rolled my eyes. *Well they’re obviously not going to let us sit here and rot.*

Natalia seemed to agree. *So, um... what should we do while we’re waiting? It’s... not terribly exciting down here.*

I laughed, pulling her mind a little closer and thinking back. She’d shared a memory with me, so it was only fair I did the same.

Three or four days later (I wasn’t sure, as I didn’t have anything to judge time with) found me sitting across from Natalia on the second plane, tossing a ball of fire Energies at her. She countered with water, then threw a second orb of water at me. I countered with earth.

Then, before I could summon up another ball of Energies, I heard it. Growling.

The two of us exchanged glances and stood, racing out into the hallway without a care for the bars in the way. Something large came tumbling down the stairs, and as it stood and shook out its fur coat, I realized with some surprise that it was Sorylle. Her fur had gone from pale gray-green to a deep sea green color, which is why I hadn’t initially recognized her.

Kallig came down next, Twilight right on his heels, and a green-haired teen following them carefully.

A green-haired teen who certainly wasn’t Sync, though he wore Sync’s clothes. *Ion? What’s he doing here?*

*Getting us out, apparently,* Natalia said, pointing to the keys in his hand. I snapped back to my body and stood up, just in time for Ion to stop outside. I crossed my arms.

“What happened to Sync?” I asked. Ion blinked up at me a moment before unlocking the cell.

“He didn’t want to risk sending me back to Daath alone, and we couldn’t break the groups up any more than we already had to in order to come get you two,” he said, already moving down to the next cell, where Natalia was standing ready as well. I stepped out and looked over at the three ligers.

Then I heard the gunshots, and my mind shot out, catching Dark’s quickly.

*Hurry! I can’t hold him off long!* Dark said without so much as a greeting. I nodded to myself and started racing for the stairs, Ion and Natalia behind me. I waved them on ahead.

“Twilight, Sorylle!”

The two ligers growled an acknowledgement, Sorylle turning to follow me almost immediately, while Twilight got off one last lightning bolt before doing the same.

Dark and Danté were squared off in the four-way crossroads, Danté bleeding from two wounds, Dark bleeding from just one. I smirked, once again reminded that Dark’s guns were quite useful indeed.

Dark glanced at me before firing another shot at Danté. *Seth and Reighn went to get your wing packs. I hope you two are ready to move, because we haven’t got a lot of time to do so,* Dark said, sensing Natalia’s mind connected to ours. I nodded, summoning Silver Clematis and striking out at Danté, who cried out in surprise as the blade narrowly missed him.

“Where the hell—?!”

“You missed something,” I taunted. Indeed, they had completely forgotten to take Silver Clematis, and there had been no way I was going to hand it over to them. Which was why I hadn’t summoned it until then.

“Dork,” Dark muttered. I got the impression it was aimed at me. Well, not the first time I’ve been called that.

I frowned when I heard what sounded like three gunshots all at once. Dark and Danté both had a habit of not shooting both guns at once, so why...?

I spotted a flash of silver from where Ion was standing, and almost stumbled over in shock. Where the hell had he gotten guns from?

“Fight now, questions later,” Dark called. I nodded and made another run at Danté, jumping out of the way of another bullet and slashing at him.

He jumped back, only to be knocked to the side by Reighn.

The blue-haired man slipped past him, Seth on his heels... Dressed like a Jedi.

I grinned like an idiot. So Emperor Peony had made those clothes after all.

Seth tossed me a wing pack, then threw one to Natalia. I glanced down at the one in my hand and frowned. Gold and sea-green?

Natalia held out one that was silver and violet, and I happily exchanged hers for mine. Then we took off running, following Seth back out of the hideout. Fitting, I suppose. He did used to be one of them, after all.

Or was he still one of them? Zion had commented multiple times on what the group had been up to, but he’d never left me and Van. So where had he gotten the information?

I hated to start pointing fingers, but Seth was the most likely leak.

Still, if Seth was supposed to be a mole for Zion... why was he here?

I forced it out of my mind for the time being. I didn’t have a choice, given the circumstances. Seth would be trusted until he proved that he didn’t deserve that trust. And he hadn’t proved anything yet.

“It’s up here, just past—gah!”

“Sis!”

My eyes widened, and I came to a halt, just barely avoiding being speared by my replica, though her hair was duller than mine and her eyes didn’t carry the gold tints mine did. Natalia’s replica stood behind her. “Mirage... Meryl...” I crossed my arms. “Let us past.”

Meryl shook her head. “No! It’s your fault my sister doesn’t have most of her memories. Rhunön said there’s still time to get the missing memories back!”

“What the hell is she talking about?” Dark asked. I rolled my eyes.

“We don’t have time for this,” I grumbled, jumping forward and throwing Mirage out of the way before she could react. False memories or not, I still had more experience than she did. Once she was out of the way, I grabbed Meryl, throwing her against the wall and holding Silver Clematis to her throat. My eyes were on Mirage, though. “This blade is poisoned. You won’t find the antidote before she’s dead.”

Mirage’s eyes widened, and she reacted much as I’d hoped she would.

That is, she started cursing at me, but didn’t make any move to stop the others moving past. Once the others were clear, I withdrew Silver Clematis and started running. Mirage ran to Meryl first, and a few frantic hand gestures were all it took to get the others moving.

Once we were above ground again, I turned to Seth. “You’re bleeding. Let me help.”

He jumped in surprise, and sat down reluctantly as I held my hands over his wound, where Mirage had stabbed him with her sword. She had been right-handed, I’d noticed.

“What was that about? Memories? Replicas don’t have memories of before they’re created... So how old are those two? And the one you called Meryl... She looked like Natalia...” Dark said. I closed my eyes, working with the Energies reflexively.

“That’s because she’s a replica of Natalia. Rhunön has figured out how to program false memories into replicas... though it seems she can only do a few months’ worth without problems cropping up. Mirage is a replica of me... she was created after Meryl, but Meryl believes she is her older sister. It seems Rhunön has convinced her that I was somehow holding Mirage captive within my body...” I said. I pulled away from Seth and helped him up before glancing around. “What happened to the others?”

Dark crossed his arms. “Sync went back to Daath, against most of our wishes. Asch is going back to Baticul, much as he doesn’t want to, because there’s no one else King Ingobert will listen to. And Natalia...” He trailed off here, and my eyes widened as I realized what bombshell Mohs must have dropped before they split up.

“What? Dark? What’s wrong?” Natalia asked. Dark sighed.

“Mohs... Seems to have found evidence that you... aren’t... actually the princess.”

_‘Damn you, Mohs.’_

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... I’d had Mirage planned since about halfway through A Ripple in the Abyss. No, not Re:ARitA, the first one. (Well, technically the second, but that’s beside the point.) Meryl... Was not planned until about four chapters before I stopped and went back to the beginning for the re-write. So yeah. I’m glad to finally get these two into the cast._


	58. Chapter 6.5 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_“And unless you’re planning on roasting Luke on a spit, you came back empty-handed.” –Reighn_

* * *

It was quiet. Too quiet. Sure, there was the sound of chirping birds and all the bug noises and rustling leaves and everything else you’d expect in a forest. But, aside from soft footsteps... There were no _human_ sounds.

Natalia hadn’t spoken a word since Dark had told her of Mohs’ accusations. Well, to be honest, Mohs did have a point. You shouldn’t get blonde hair out of bloodlines with predominantly red or black hair. Of course, this had thrown Natalia into a depression, and all of us were desperate to see her out of it.

We’d only been traveling for a few hours before it started to get dark, and I sighed.

“We should stop and set up camp.”

Dark and Seth, who had been leading the group, paused and turned to look at me. Then they nodded, starting to look around. I frowned. “There was a clearing about a hundred yards back, off to the right.”

Twilight bounded off to check it out, returning a few moments later with a growl that Dark nodded in response to. “Alright. Natalia, Kairi, Ion, why don’t you three start getting tents set up? Seth, Reighn? Can you two get firewood? I’m going to see if I can’t find an animal in this gloom.”

“Let me go,” I said, already pulling my bow out. “I’m actually better hunting at dusk, or even the dead of night. I can actually see my prey, even if it’s dark.”

Dark blinked a few times before nodding. “Alright. I’ll help pitch the tents then.”

We split up without another word, Twilight padding along quietly some distance behind me so as not to disturb the local wildlife. My eyes danced around, even though it wasn’t really necessary. Twilight would give me a warning growl if any monsters came near, and I’d _feel_ any animals before I saw them.

A mass of Energies on the edge of my awareness caught my attention, and I honed in on it, just in time for Twilight to give a soft warning growl. I blinked.

It wasn’t an animal.

It was a cheagle. A familiar cheagle.

Another, larger, true Energy Core stepped into my awareness, along with the color red. I frowned, ready to fire the nocked arrow at Luke should he prove to be an enemy.

“Don’t shoot, please?” he called, having spotted me a good minute and a half after I’d seen him. I didn’t relax my half-drawn bow, but I tilted my head, a silent indication that he could speak. “You were right. Traveling with Zion and Master Van was cool, but it didn’t feel right. But... I don’t know what to do now.”

I relaxed and stood out of my crouch. “What do you want to do?”

Luke was quiet for a while. “I want to stop this war.”

I nodded. Good. Already on the right track. “Asch has gone to Baticul.”

“Then I’ll go to Grand Chokmah,” Luke decided. “I... think I should find some way to apologize to the emperor, anyway.” I raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. “I... I never said anything before, because I knew what Van would say. I know my memory of the event is fuzzy, but... I’m almost certain now. It wasn’t Asch who destroyed the passage ring. It was me. I’m the one responsible for the destruction of Akzeriuth. So I should do what I can to make up for it.”

I smiled. It was a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

“Why don’t you come with us then? I’ve got the connections you’ll need to get an audience with Emperor Peony... And I’m sure Ion will appreciate having his friend back.”

Luke stared at me, incredulous, but my smile didn’t budge.

“Mieuuuu... Kairi’s right, Master! Ion was really sad after you left.”

I couldn’t help but giggle a bit at the shock that flashed across Luke’s face when the little cheagle spoke. Still, having Mieu around was nice. He did a very good job of helping me point Luke in the right direction.

To be honest, I don’t think I would have pulled it off without the little bunny monster.

I turned to Twilight, who had come up behind me at some point, and scratched his head. “Then why don’t you two stick with Twilight. I’m looking for dinner.”

Luke scratched his head. “Uh... You wanna just have more of that ep—epu... uh... whatever the hell it was you killed the night before we got to the hideout?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “How much is left?”

Luke scratched the back of his head. “We only ate about half of the meat. And of that, Kallig ate a little more than half.” I thought about it and nodded.

“Alright. Twilight and Sorylle will have to hunt for themselves, but that’ll feed the rest of us just fine.”

Twilight growled something, before pausing and nudging me in the back. I chuckled and opened a connection. <We’ll be fine. These lands are plentiful, it’s the only reason it can support so many ligers. You should head back to camp if he has the meat,> he said. I nodded.

“We will. Why don’t you go tell Sorylle?”

He nodded and took off running, and I stuck the arrows back into my quiver before my bow was slipped around my torso. “Let’s go. Twilight’s going on ahead.”

Luke nodded, following me without a word, while I wondered exactly what I was going to tell the others. Well, if all else fails, tell the truth.

I stepped into camp and was greeted by a rather amusing sight. Ion stood near Reighn, who was attempting to get the fire started. Key word there being ‘attempting.’

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon,” Ion was saying. Reighn scowled.

“I’ve been trying for five minutes, I’m about to tell Dark to do himself.”

I sighed, stepping over and summoning up the Energies for the fire-starting trick. “You’re hopeless,” I announced. Reighn and Ion looked up at me, Reighn raising an eyebrow.

“And unless you’re planning on roasting Luke on a spit, you came back empty-handed.”

Mieu squeaked at the implied cannibalism (well, it was probably more a matter of he was worried Luke might be eaten, period) and grabbed onto Luke’s pantleg. The redhead chuckled, a dry sound that had just a hint of humor underneath. I smiled. That was good. He was recovering from the emotional dead-zone he’d been when Zion and Van had captured me.

“Relax, Mieu. Kairi’s a lot of things, but I really don’t think she’s a cannibal,” Luke told the cheagle. I giggled a bit before turning to Reighn.

“Luke got stuck carrying most of the foodstuffs in his wing pack. Van let me hunt a few days ago, so there’s some fresh meat in there left over from that. It should be more than enough for all of us,” I said. Then I unleashed the Energies on the innocent pile of wood, a warm, crackling fire starting up in just a few seconds. Reighn jumped, before staring at it like the fire was some horrid ghoul. I smirked. “And there is our fire.”

Ion sighed. “Natalia and Dark left to get water, and Seth is setting up a perimeter.”

“Was setting up a perimeter. I’m a little concerned about the fact that Kairi waltzed into camp with a guy who’s been traveling with our enemy for the past couple months,” Seth said.

He stopped a few feet away from the rest of us, arms crossed inside his sleeves and looking every bit the Jedi he was dressed up as. I rolled my eyes, but Luke was the one who spoke.

“Ma... Van lied to me about Akzeriuth. My memory isn’t perfect. I remember heading down into Tunnel Fourteen to find him like he’d told me to, and then everything gets fuzzy. Kairi said Zion was there even then, but I don’t remember that at all. I remember seeing Asch and Van fighting... That’s about it, until I woke up outside Shurrey Hill,” Luke explained. “And... I’m not going to ask you to trust me.”

No one spoke for a time, but, unsurprisingly, Ion was the one to break the silence.

“I trust you, Luke.”

Luke looked at him, blinked a few times, then realized that no, the green-haired teen wasn’t Sync. A small, sad smile graced his lips. “Thanks... Ion.”

I smiled and looked around, noting a certain lack of a princess and her bodyguard. I sighed. “Luke, Reighn, why don’t you two get started on dinner. I’m going to find Dark and Natalia. The ligers have gone out to hunt their own dinners, and...” I trailed off, glancing at Seth and Ion.

“I’ll stay here with Luke and Reighn. I should probably learn a little about cooking, anyways,” Ion said. Seth sighed.

“I’m gonna go back to setting up the perimeter. Call for me when dinner’s ready.” The brunette turned and headed back out of the clearing.

I wandered off, watching the flow of Energies on the second plane. Or more correctly, the water Energies. I followed the heaviest flow. Reighn had said they were looking for water, right? That meant finding a stream or something of the like. Water Energies (like the other four basic Energies) liked to gather around their physical manifestation. So, follow the Energies.

“Dark... I’m sorry.”

I stopped, ducking behind a tree and glancing toward the edge of a lake. A lake with a familiar pattern of colors on the other side... Mushroom Road?

“For what?” Dark sounded happy, but confused. I couldn’t blame him. It was nice to hear Natalia talking again.

“You’re out of a job now because of me.”

I sighed silently. Oh Natalia, you poor, naïve little thing.

Dark actually laughed. “Don’t apologize! Thanks to you, caravan masters won’t automatically turn me away anymore. Hell, even if I couldn’t get work as a mercenary protecting caravans, I can still fall back on assassinations. Besides... if anyone’s put me out of a job, it’s Mohs. And anyway, I’ll still protect you even if you aren’t the princess, because you’re my best friend.”

I knew that tone of voice. I knew it all too well.

I smiled and walked away, leaving the two be. Let them work things out between them. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping in the first place... although at least I know what’s taking them so long now.

I stepped back into camp and looked around. Three tents had been erected in a semi-circle around the fire, which now had meat hanging over it. Very good-smelling meat, I might add. Very familiar-smelling meat...

“Were you really paying attention when I listed those herbs I used a few weeks ago, or did I have some of that rub left over?” I asked, kneeling next to Luke. The redhead gave me a wry smile.

“I wrote it down in my journal. It smelled really good, so I decided I’d start writing stuff down so I didn’t forget,” he admitted. Reighn glanced over.

“I’ve copied it into my recipe book. You don’t mind, do you?” he asked. I shook my head, grinning the whole time.

“Nah. Spread the love, right?”

“That is such a corny line.”

I turned and grinned at Dark and Natalia. The princess (I’m probably always gonna think of her as such) seemed to be in a much better mood now. Luke stood, headed off to the edge of the clearing, and called for Seth. The replica returned after just a bit, and Reighn started passing around food. Seasoned meat and rice. Simple, but certainly not bland.

“So, what next?” Ion asked, accepting his plate. Natalia sighed.

“I want to stop this war. I might not be the true princess, but I was raised as one. I won’t just stand back and watch Kimlasca and Malkuth destroy each other,” she said. I nodded

“Asch has gone to Baticul, and Luke wants to go to Grand Chokmah. I agreed to go with him to get him an audience with Emperor Peony.”

Dark was quiet a moment before he spoke up. “We’re just south of western clan territory.”

Reighn sighed. “I hate to have to be the one to say this, but I’m not sure we have time for that,” he said. I shrugged.

“Chances are, we’re going to be stranded up here for a while. Sure, we have to go to Grand Chokmah, but I don’t see any reason why not to... why am I getting the feeling I’m missing something?”

Dark chuckled lowly. “The southern clan has gone feral and is attacking the eastern clan. They’re trapped against the eastern coast, while the western clan is gathering safely on the northern coast, waiting for the ice bridges from Keterburg to form. They refuse to have anything to do with the southern clan... which means no reprieve for the eastern.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Talk about a clusterfuck of liger problems.”

The others chuckled, or sighed in Natalia and Ion’s cases.

“That about sums it up,” Seth agreed.

I thought about it, then shrugged again. “Well, whatever. Let’s help.”

Reighn sighed. “Time?”

“Unless you’d rather be stuck in the Qliphoth, of course,” I added. By this point, everyone was looking at me strangely, and I groaned. “The Zao Ruins valve has been closed. Engeve was supported by the Shurrey Hill sephiroth. If Asch is smart, he’ll use the connections between the two to lower all of that land slowly, like an elevator. I don’t want to be stuck in the Qliphoth when that happens.”

Dark blinked a few times. “I hadn’t even thought about that.”

Reighn poked the fire a few times with a stick. “Who’s to say this area, or the area north of here, won’t fall?”

I started digging around in my bag, pulling out a map and spreading it out on the ground. “Look,” I ordered, pointing to the Cheagle Woods. “The river between the Cheagle Woods and the Northern Forest is right on the plate boundary. We’d be wise to put at least _some_ distance between us and that boundary, but otherwise, we shouldn’t have a problem. The northern tip of Rugnica is supported by Mt. Roneal, and I’ve tightened the security there already. There’s no way Van’s going to figure out the password for that one.”

“Oh?” Seth asked. I snorted.

“I’m not telling. There are already three people who know the answer other than myself, and if you ask me, that’s two too many,” I said. “And one of those three is sitting in this circle.”

Dark gave me a suspicious look, but didn’t comment. He knew I was talking about him.

Ion took a deep breath. “So, we’re going to help the ligers then?”

The rest of us nodded. “Yeah,” Reighn agreed reluctantly. He sighed, gathering up everyone’s dishes. “I’ll go clean up. Dark, you’ve got first watch. Seth, second, I’ll take third.”

We all nodded again and headed for the tents.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Actually, the Cheagle Woods doesn’t fall into the Qliphoth... but since there’s a couple rivers running through there, I decided that I’d put the boundary on one of those instead. It works well enough..._


	59. Chapter 6.6 - Conflicts and Sidequests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did the math... as of the end of May, I need to have finished posting Re:AST and then posted the first 7 Parts of AEtT if I want to be caught up.
> 
> ...Yes. I am very behind.

_Okay. No Fae’s Ire._ –Kairi

* * *

We followed Dark. None of the rest of us had any idea where we were going, after all. It made no sense for us to be wandering around without any sort of direction.

Dark had also, over the last few hours, started drilling us on liger clan formalities, and had informed Reighn, Seth, and I of our ranks, since he’d told everyone else previously. We had also agreed that, once Dark got us in, he would explain my telepathy, and I’d keep a strong field over the area, so any liger that wanted to talk to us could do so without Dark or Mieu having to act as translators all the time.

By this point, I was starting to note the odd flash of blue-green, magenta, brown (in many shades), and gray. I smiled slightly when a light gray head poked out of a bush only to duck back in upon seeing us. I paused.

“It’s okay.”

The little liger poked its head out again, eyes wide as it watched me, before it padded over carefully. I kept up a mental connection with Twilight, since I couldn’t understand the liger language on my own.

“Hi...”

“Hello, little one,” Twilight growled back in greeting.

Another growl came out of the bushes a few yards up the path, more a sharp reprimand than anything else, and the baby liger squealed and ran off toward the growl. Probably its mother, then.

Natalia giggled. “It’s so cute...”

Dark gave her a rather contorted expression. “She may have been cute now, but that was a beta liger. You won’t be saying that in a few months.”

Reighn rolled his eyes. “Personally, I’m hoping the fact that we’ve run into a young liger means we’re getting close.”

Disjointed sentences came through the connection with Twilight just before he and Sorylle gave the warning growl. I was already drawing my sword, Luke just a moment behind me, though he looked a little uneasy.

Seth and Reighn had the potential to be short-ranged fighters, but they preferred to stay back and cast. Dark, Natalia, and now Ion were all long-ranged fighters, which, counting the ligers, meant we had five long range and four short range. Of course, given the number of ligers that showed up a moment later, I hoped that the eastern clan was at least willing to fight back themselves.

Fifteen yellow-bodied ligers and one with a body that was rather more orange than yellow (its mane and tail matched most of the others, though, and I couldn’t get past that wall of hate) came charging at us. Only three of them were Alphas, but the rest were still rather large. Betas and Gammas, probably. Twilight and Sorylle unleashed the attacks they’d been storing up, a line of ice tripping up three ligers, while the lightning blast caught another two off-guard.

That’s when the eastern clan ligers showed up. Four Alphas, and about as many Betas and Gammas as the opposing force. Plus three that Dark identified as Omegas, and another six Deltas.

The feral southern clan ligers had one thing going for them, though. Unpredictability. They couldn’t think, so they were dangerous, lashing out at each other if one of them came too close to its fellows.

Dark growled out a warning, then mentally pushed me to connect to all of our allies. I did so, before lifting Silver Clematis to guard against the first claw strike that had been aimed at me.

Mental images, trails of thought, and barely-structured orders all flew around in my head. Most of it was coming from Sorylle and the other four eastern clan Alphas, but bits and pieces were coming from Dark. The rest of us just seemed more focused on keeping ourselves alive and protecting Reighn, Seth, and Ion.

One of the four Alphas pushed a half-formed mental image at us, and I sent a rather more solid one back. Confirmation came back through, and I sent a questioning mental nudge to Luke, along with a memory of Asch signaling over-limit.

Luke stopped, lowering his sword with a grimace and taking the next swipe aimed at him without any sort of defense. The redhead was thrown in the air, only to flip and land on his feet. He looked back at me and nodded, and I sent a mental push back toward the ligers.

Seven thunder shots and two ice lines got the entire attacking force (minus one we’d already managed to kill) grouped together, and Luke ran in, unleashing a shockwave to knock two of them back into the group. I ran in right behind him. I’d meant for Fae’s Ire to work with both Luke’s Radiant Howl and Asch’s Rending Sabre. I guess I’d just have to find out now if it worked.

The familiar fonic glyph appeared around Luke and caught most of the ligers. I didn’t make a comment about him missing four of them. The glyph was only so big, after all. I did, however, note the flash of green off in my peripheral vision. Had that been...?

“You’re mine!” Luke cried, an inarticulate yell following it up as the hyperresonance converged on the ligers. “Now, die!”

The blast brought the ligers to the ground, and before I could even start up Fae’s Ire, another even more familiar glyph appeared.

“Maybe I can help...” I heard Ion say. I immediately let go of the sixth fonons and started pulling on fifth. Okay, no Fae’s Ire. Shall we extend on the extension? (Can we even do that?)

“Akashic Torment!” Light rose up a second time, and three of the ligers started separating, even as the white glyph turned red.

I laughed, amazed and grateful that this had even worked. “Don’t think we’re finished yet!” I jumped into the air, letting the fonons gather at the tips of my fingers. “Eternal faith...” And didn’t that fit Ion and Luke? I smiled and flung the two fireballs at the ligers. “Sorcerer’s Rage!”

The darkness around me faded out, the rest of the battlefield returning. There were only seven ligers remaining of the original sixteen, and a louder-than-usual gunshot took one of them down, one that hadn’t been caught in the Mystic Arte Mash that Luke, Ion, and I had unleashed. I smirked, running forward and slashing at as many of the ligers as I could. Two of them dropped from the blade’s poison, one dropped from me finally finishing it off after the mass of fonons we’d dropped on it, and the other three were taken care of by the eastern ligers.

Once the threat was gone, I let Silver Clematis reform on my arm once more.

*Thank you.*

I turned to the Alpha who had spoken, a gorgeous female who looked an awful lot like Sorylle. Or rather, as I realized a moment later from the way Sorylle stood near her, Sorylle looked a lot like her.

*There is no need to thank us. We came to help,* I told her. She nodded once, then turned to Dark.

*And you... Thank you, for looking after my daughter.*

Dark forced a smile. *I was raised alongside an eastern liger. I wasn’t about to leave one of my own.*

The Alpha nodded again. *I see. I am Illeka, Clan Queen of the Eastern Ligers.*

I got the distinct feeling from Dark that we’d gotten very, very lucky. *What is it you are trying to accomplish, ma’am?* he asked.

Illeka tilted her head to the side. *Freedom. Our western cousins await the ice bridges from the north. Given our options, we would prefer to go as well. However, there are doubts among our numbers that we will be able to break through the veritable wall of southern ligers who have chosen to stand between us and the northern shore.*

I nodded. It seemed that Dark had been right. Sorylle flicked an ear.

*We came to help you break through those lines. We figured that was the problem,* she said. Illeka seemed to take pause, before silently asking me if I could cut the line, seeming to understand that none of us, save Dark, was fluent in their language.

I dropped the telepathic field completely, and forced down the wave of exhaustion that hit me while Illeka and Sorylle growled a conversation to each other. Sorylle seemed sad, but defiant, while Illeka slowly seemed to be accepting that her daughter had chosen to stand by Dark’s side instead of hers.

Dark, I noted, looked conflicted, like he wasn’t sure whether to be happy that Sorylle wanted to stay with him, or upset that she was leaving her family behind for it.

A growl from behind the two brought their attention away from each other, which was then followed up by Illeka continuing the conversation. The queen turned to me, then folded her ears back and made a rather meek growl. Sorylle’s broken growling sounded like a laugh, and I sighed, realizing what had just happened.

*Twilight does that a lot,* I said once the telepathic field was down and most of the ligers had latched on again.

*I usually don’t get any warning, though,* he added.

Illeka seemed amused now. *I see... Your name is Twilight?* The western liger dipped his head. *Do you fight as Sorylle does, with a human as your fang-brother?*

Just so you know, ‘fang-brother’ was my mind’s rough translation for what Illeka said.

*Yes. The mind-bridge-maker is my fang-sister.* (Again, with words that aren’t really words. I had a feeling this was going to happen a lot...)

Illeka growled, a sound of irritation, before she looked at me. *I would not normally ask this, but will you and my daughter’s fang-brother consent to being separated from your partners? We would like to send an emissary to the western clan, a final request for aid.*

*And it would make sense that you would want to send me...* Twilight said, reluctantly admitting that he would have to face his clan again. *Very well. Dark? Kairi? Sorylle?*

Sorylle nodded, and I sighed. *I’m fine with it, but... I’d like to keep Luke and Ion with me, if possible.*

*I don’t think I’ll be able to handle another Akashic Torment in such short succession,* Ion admitted. Then he paused. *Unless...* I crossed my arms.

*Sync told you?* I guessed. Ion nodded. *I can fix that, then.*

*What about the rest of us?* Natalia asked. Dark shook his head.

*I’d feel a lot better if I knew you were here, relatively safe, where Sorylle can keep an eye on you.*

*At this rate, we’re going to end up sending him alone,* Seth noted. Twilight chuckled in his mind.

*Might as well. The two of us will travel faster without the added weight.*

Natalia didn’t say anything, but all of us felt her discomfort.

*We don’t even know if they’ll help, and we’ve got barely two weeks before the ice bridges form,* one of the other ligers said. *What are we going to do then?*

I shrugged. *We’ll figure something else out. Believe me, I’m good at improvising. Still, having even a little support from the other side will be nice,* I said. Dark nodded and walked over to Twilight, stopping just a foot away to turn and smirk at Natalia.

“It’ll be fine. I survived four years with just Koran before, didn’t I? Give me three days. If you don’t hear anything by then, assume I’ll meet you on the northern shore. Believe me, I have no intention of dying,” he said, jumping up onto Twilight’s back with a practiced ease. Twilight growled something akin to ‘good luck’ at me before turning and taking off.

Once the two were out of sight, Sorylle growled at us to get our attention.

Illeka stepped over to me, Sorylle nudging Natalia. *Get on. We must travel quickly,* Illeka said. I nodded, jumping up and swinging my right leg over the queen’s back. The other three Alphas picked up Seth, Reighn, and Luke, Ion clambering up behind the redhead. Sorylle, who was about the size of a Beta, was just large enough to carry Natalia without problems.

Illeka and I spent most of the run going over geography in our heads. Some of the other ligers joined in, but most of it was just me and the queen.

Then the field I was keeping active brushed against many other minds, and I let that warning go out to those I was still connected to. Illeka thanked me before going quiet. We weren’t that far away from the others when she finally let out a yowl. Through the others, I recognized it as a warning that they were returning with company.

Illeka bounded into a large, communal nesting ground. It looked like there were hundreds, if not thousands of ligers in the half-mile-wide depression in the ground. I looked around, silently amazed by the sheer number of ligers here.

A few dozen Alphas came running up, and I realized that all of them were female. The queens of the individual packs, then?

Illeka let me get down, and the others followed suit. I almost immediately crouched down and started drawing out a rough sketch of the land around us. The ligers helped, and within moments, we not only had a map, we had a general idea of where we’d split up with Dark, where the line of southern ligers were, and where the western ligers were waiting on the ice bridges.

I built up some barriers around my mind so I could think without the others having to listen in.

*What about this area?* Natalia asked, pointing to a valley. Reighn shook his head immediately.

*No way. If they got up on those walls, we’d be screwed.*

I blinked and looked over the valley in question. *Assuming we don’t get there first.*

*Kairi?*

Lots of eyes locked on me, while I looked over the map again, running through the plans in my mind a second time. Then I nodded.

*What if we set up our own ambush here? These guys don’t think, they act. We send the fastest ligers to get their attention and draw them into the valley...*

*While the ligers above unleash hell,* Reighn continued, seeing where I was going. I nodded, while Illeka looked over the map herself.

*That’s close enough to the eastern coast... If we can draw them into the valley and away from the water, the young and elderly could get past them with minimal fighting,* she noted. I looked up at her and nodded.

*Yeah. That valley’s perfect for an ambush, and even if the southern ligers figure it out...* I trailed off.

*It’ll be too late to stop at least some of our number from escaping.*

Reighn, Seth, Natalia, Ion, Luke, and I looked up at her, Sorylle sitting behind us, and the rest of the queens around our circle.

*Well? It’s your call, Your Majesty,* Ion said.

Illeka looked at him and nodded.

“Prepare!”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Illeka was not an only child. She had a brother. (That is all I shall say for now.)_


	60. Chapter 6.7 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_I looked like hell from where they were standing. No surprise there, really. –Kairi_

* * *

I sat, crouched in my hiding place along with Ion and Luke. Ion, whose Energy Core had finally been fixed. Luke, who had Mieu perched on his shoulder just as always. It had been three days since Dark and Twilight had left for the western ligers. We hadn’t heard a thing yet. And despite his assurances when he left that he would be fine, I couldn’t help but fear that he was dead, killed by the very ligers we were about to attempt to slaughter.

I was shaking. I hid it rather well, but I was shaking.

Luke was still mostly emotionally dead. It hadn’t really hit him what we were doing yet. Ion had been shaking earlier, but Luke had wrapped an arm around him, promising him that he wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Ion had forced a smile and then gotten enough of a grip on himself to stop the shaking.

Yes, they were feral. No, they didn’t really have any sort of rational thought left. But ligers were just as sentient as cheagles or humans, and it hurt. It hurt so bad, knowing that we were about to attack creatures that might as well have been humans.

Keeping to that line of thought distracted me from the fear that Dark wasn’t going to be waiting for us on the northern shore.

Yowls, growls, yips, and whines caught our attention, and immediately, all three of us were collecting fonons, shaping them, holding them...

*Now!* Natalia cried in our minds.

“Infernal Prison!” Mine, in its usual blue, since I wasn’t strong enough for pure fonons yet. Oh well.

“Storm Lance!” Luke’s, an arte taught to him by Zion and perfected under my tutelage.

“Ray!” A sixth-fonon arte that Reighn had taught Ion. When overloaded, it turned into Prism Gale, one of the few Daathic Fonic artes that was right on the edge and could be used by Ion with ease.

The three artes struck the yellow-bodied ligers in front, allowing the ligers who had played bait to escape. Another round of artes was dropped on them. Crackle, courtesy of Natalia, rather than Reighn, who had taken the time to learn Dark’s new second-fonon one, Sandstorm, which erupted right next to the ice. And Negative Blade, an old favorite of Seth’s.

A number of eastern ligers burst out of the brush and landed in our fields of fonons, each of them unleashing a powered-up version of their usual Thunder Lance (I’d finally gotten the name of that arte out of Illeka) or Ice Stream. Apparently different ligers could unleash different artes depending on the field of fonons, even if they were all using the same base arte.

Sorylle was down there, her Ice Stream turning into a Glacier Stream through use of the Sandstorm FoF. Fitting, given that Dark had created that arte.

The mass of southern ligers seemed to take pause, not having expected the sudden attack that was then compounded by me and Luke jumping down in and getting involved personally in the scuffle that followed. Ion stayed up above, out of the way. It was going to be a long fight. We’d known that the minute we realized just how many enemies there were. And while my heart still went out to every liger I killed, at least I wasn’t shaking anymore.

My life, for those few moments, became a simple and yet complicated dance. I’d swing Silver Clematis at one liger, then strike out at another with my usual sword, which was in my right hand. I’d decided to attempt dual-wielding for a time, since I had the swords to do it and doing so wouldn’t be too conflicting with my usual style. Slash, slash, spin, thrust, drop and roll, jump up, start slashing again. Everything was a blur of colors. Strike out against those who were yellow, defend those who were gray or green, and stay alive.

Then the true nightmare started.

Two gunshots rang out, far too close for it to have been Ion, and they sounded off. One bullet tore through my upper right arm, another through my left calf. The second one was a fonic bullet, but it hurt nonetheless. I turned, searching for the man who had shot the guns, and spotted Danté with ease. Nearby, Kallig fought tooth and nail against his fellow eastern ligers, and I scowled, pulling together the Energies to heal my wounds without bothering to clean them properly. I’d regret it later, but I didn’t have the time right now.

I ran at Danté, Silver Clematis continuing to sing through the air as it sought out every yellow-bodied liger between me and the assassin. I was lost in the deadly dance of my own blades, a dance that was bringing me closer and closer to Danté with every swipe I took.

*Kairi! Ion’s ready!* Luke said, voice echoing in my mind. I sent a mental image of Danté and Kallig, and felt a confirmation come back, along with something that translated as ‘be careful’.

Flashes of red, white, and green moved toward me, gunshots growing ever closer. Luke was shielding Ion as best he could so the three of us could once again unleash hell on the masses. I reached out and connected to every eastern liger in the vicinity, and sent a warning to them. Within moments of Luke and Ion reaching my location, just a few yards away from Danté, the eastern ligers retreated, turning and blasting the southern ligers, plus Danté and Kallig, into the space in the middle.

Luke was the first to run forward, once again preparing to unleash his hyperresonance. Again, I started collecting sixth fonons, except this time, I knew I’d get a chance to use them. Ion could chain Akashic Torment after Fae’s Ire by using the left over sixth fonons, which I could then follow up with another extension, Sorcerer’s Rage.

Before I could pull them both off, though...

Luke, Ion, and I stopped and spun on our heels in the same moment, unleashing the shockwaves of built-up fonons before the fonic glyph of Luke’s Radiant Howl appeared, the rest of the world fading out. We had just managed to make something of a triangle around the mass of ligers we’d blasted into the glyph’s area of effect.

“Now, die!” Luke yelled, unleashing the hyperresonance. Unfortunately, only two of about sixteen did.

“My turn! Don’t wanna die? Why don’t I help you!” I brought my hands down, barely even recognizing that I’d spoken as the blast of light came down on the fourteen enemies. Four more down, just ten left as Ion appeared and I seemed to vanish again. Thankful for the effects of over-limit, I pulled in the fifth fonons I’d need for this next one.

“Why don’t I help? Light of the forsaken... Akashic Torment!” Ion cried, unleashing the arte. He still stumbled a bit after it was over, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was used to seeing from the game.

The white glyph faded to red, and the six remaining enemies looked at me in shock as I seemingly appeared to them a second time. I jumped up, hanging in the air there. “Eternal faith... Sorcerer’s Rage!”

Once the three of us were done, only Danté and Kallig remained standing, and even then, it seemed they were barely managing that. Danté growled to Kallig.

“We’re leaving.”

Kallig didn’t argue, just turned and followed as Danté ran away. Sorylle appeared and Ion hopped onto her back, the eastern princess carrying him away from the worst of the fighting.

I was tired. I’d done what was physically impossible for anyone born in Auldrant. I’d unleashed two Mystic Artes in less than eighteen hours. But I’d done it, and now we had to keep fighting.

I turned, running at the hoard of ligers that was nearest to me and starting the deadly dance of blades and claws and thunder all over again. I forced myself to keep going, even as my arm and leg started to protest my actions, even when my other leg, the one Danté had shot me through when he kidnapped me, started to ache. I refused to stop, because stopping here meant dying. There was no way I was going to die, not when I had so much to live for, so many people to come back to. Was this what it was like for soldiers?

I paused for just a moment in a small clearing of bodies, noting the carnage all around me. Mostly southern ligers, yes. But not all. There were many eastern ligers fallen among the southern, a lot of those showing signs of having been infected by the disease that had driven the southern clan to madness. Likely killed by their own clanmates in mercy.

I raised my swords again, not looking forward to continuing this fight. My body ached to simply lie down among the fallen and stay there.

A loud, familiar growl reached my ears.

“Now!”

I looked up, watching in wonder as dozens of lines of thunder (or occasionally fire) rained down on the southern ligers, the eastern hightailing it out of there before they could get caught in the crossfire. I grinned when a particularly stubborn liger was then taken down by a black, demonic version of Archangel’s Wing. I looked up at the crowd of multi-colored ligers, almost all of which had red tails. But I was looking for one in particular... And I spotted him.

Purple mane shifting in the wind, and a black-haired teen on his back. I reached out for him with my mind, him and the human with him.

*Twilight! Dark!*

*Kairi?!* Twilight sounded surprised. *Where...?*

*There!* Dark cried, seeing me and pointing. Twilight’s gaze shifted to me, and I laughed wryly. I looked like hell from where they were standing. No surprise there, really.

I twirled with barely a thought, Silver Clematis striking an approaching enemy’s head. The liger snarled at me, attacking again. I ducked, then jumped away, slashing out again even as the western ligers joined the fray, quickly taking down the remainder of the southern ligers. The one I fought was knocked to the side by Twilight, only to fall and find itself unable to get up as the poison from my blade worked through its system.

“Where are the others?” Dark asked.

“Luke’s around here somewhere, he should be fairly close,” I said. “Reighn and Seth could be anywhere. Natalia and Ion are up on the valley walls, staying out of the way while picking off the southern ligers one at a time. Ion’s almost out of ammo, though.”

Dark nodded. “Alright.” He jumped down from Twilight’s back and glanced at him. “Find Reighn and Seth first. We can worry about Luke.”

Twilight nodded and took off, and I turned, raising my sword and slashing at another liger that had attempted to sneak up on me. Dark started shooting at it, but it didn’t last long, the liger hitting the ground a moment later. I reached out, looking for Luke, and then started leading Dark to him.

Flashes of crimson finally made following my telepathy unnecessary, and we slipped around a fight between a western and southern liger just in time to see another southern liger rake its claws down Luke’s front.

Luke cried out, but made the spin and sword-plant necessary for a Guardian Field. I noted the fully-formed field of fonons and ran forward, pulling them in as I jumped up for a Havoc Strike. Or rather...

“Be gone! Burning Havoc!”

The liger gave a rather pitiful moan as it dropped to the ground, defeated. Dark knelt next to Luke, whose shaking arms barely held him up by virtue of the sword he’d stuck in the ground.

“O divine ring of those of purity and grace! Halo!” Dark chanted. True to form, the light created a ring around Luke before fading into his body, his wounds mostly healing, though the claw marks simply scabbed over. Dark started prepping another one, but I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Save it for later. We’ve only go so many healers, there may be ligers in worse condition when this is all over,” I said. He grimaced, but nodded and stood, the two of us helping Luke to his feet.

Three sets of green and gold eyes gazed over the valley. What few southern ligers hadn’t yet fled were being killed with frightening precision by the eastern and western ligers. The many bodies littered across the ground were slowly disappearing as well, fonons separating as the number of nearby living creatures dropped. The surviving eastern ligers were leaving the valley, their wounded either slumped over the backs of the Betas and Alphas or supported by their fellows. A shock of blue draped limply over purple and orange had me racing toward the western liger who carried not another liger, but a human.

“Reighn!”

I reached out and pushed at the mind of the liger carrying my friend. The liger paused, looking back at me, but accepting the channel. *He will live, young one,* she said, voice giving away what her words had already hinted at. This liger was old, barely young enough to be on the battlefield, I was sure. *His wounds were already tended to.*

I breathed a sigh of relief as Dark and Luke caught up to us. I noticed the pained expression Luke wore and grimaced, turning back to the liger. *Would you consent to carrying another, Elder?*

The liger nodded her head. *I will... for you are without doubt the fang-sister of my daughter’s son. Too long has he been alone.*

I blinked, looking over the liger again. Orange markings, of a darker color than Twilight’s. A violet-red mane, her tail a brighter red with black tips, and her body a very dull purple. The resemblance, now that I was looking for it, was definitely there.

*Thank you, Elder,* I said, helping Dark to lift Luke onto her back. She left then, Twilight padding up shortly after with Seth on his back. Another liger who shared many characteristics with Twilight save for a dark orange mane in place of violet carried Natalia, Sorylle coming up with Ion not a moment later.

Twilight lowered his head and pushed it into my chest, and I reached out to hug the liger as best I could. Sorylle and Dark shared a similar reunion.

*Let us be gone,* Twilight said. *The ice bridges come. We must not miss them.*

I nodded, moving and jumping up behind Seth, while Dark asked Natalia’s mount, a female named Autumn, for permission to do the same. She nodded her head once, and the three ligers took off, abandoning what was left of the battlefield as the rest of the ligers had already done.

My grip on Seth firm, I lowered my head, cutting off all connections and finally allowing myself to mourn this loss of life.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _This is the first time we see Kairi dual-wielding. It’s... a fairly rare occurrence, but important nonetheless._


	61. Chapter 6.8 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_I smiled, glad that I’d finally run Luke’s morphine-addled brain into a corner it couldn’t quite find a way out of. –Kairi_

_“You have much to learn in the art of Energies.” –Kairi_

* * *

I was jolted awake by Seth, who apparently wanted to get down off of Twilight. I nodded just once and slipped down from the liger’s back, looking around. It was dusk, and I noted that a camp had already been built for the human members of our little war party. Reighn, Dark, Luke, Ion, and Natalia were already wandering over there. Reighn was limping, favoring his left leg and using Twilight’s grandmother as something of a crutch.

I ran over and slipped under him, figuring a human crutch would be easier on him. Reighn looked down at me and smiled.

“Thanks...”

I forced a smile in return and helped him over to the camp fire, where the two of us sat down. Sorylle approached us shortly, laying down and letting Dark and Natalia lean back against her. Twilight did the same for me and Reighn, before growling at me and nudging my elbow. I reluctantly opened a connection, not quite willing to lay down a telepathic field after the events of the day. I was still exhausted, after all, and had no doubts that I would end up eating my dinner and then falling asleep immediately.

*The western Clan Queen has requested an audience with you tomorrow morning. She’s also invited every Alpha of her family, the eastern Clan Queen, and every Alpha of _her_ family,* he told me. *All of the humans here are invited as well.*

I frowned. *Why do you sound like you’re dreading it?* I asked. Twilight grumbled something unintelligible before shifting slightly.

*You’ll find out tomorrow.* With that rather cryptic utterance, he cut the connection off, and I forced down a yawn.

“Alright...”

“Here,” Luke’s voice brought me out of my half-asleep state. I blinked at the bowl of salad that was being held out in front of me before realizing that I was supposed to take it and eat it. Once I’d gotten that far, mentally, I was able to actually perform the action.

“You okay?” Reighn asked, having noticed how out of it I was. I shrugged, going back to stabbing my salad with prejudice. He didn’t say anything for a bit, just working on his own food. He was about half-way through his (mine was almost gone) when he dropped his fork and hissed. A spasm had his left knee knocking into my right knee, and I grunted.

We glanced at each other before sharing a grimace. “You should probably...” he started. I just nodded.

“Yeah...”

I stood up, helping Reighn to scoot over, and then flopped back down on his other side, where my already-abused legs would be less likely to get hurt any more than they were.

“Um...”

We looked up, noting that the rest of the group was giving us strange looks. I forced a smile. “My knee needs reinforced again,” I started.

“My leg is still acting up,” Reighn added.

“Less pain for the both of us,” I finished.

Dark nodded, understanding what we were talking about now, and while it took the others a few moments to figure it out, they did so quickly. I finished my salad and handed the bowl off to Seth, who was slated for dishes duty, before relaxing against Twilight and closing my eyes.

Rather than immediately allowing myself to go to sleep, however, I slipped onto the second plane, focusing first on my knee. Then I started healing the rest of the scratches on my body.

Two infected spots caught my attention, and I realized a moment late that they had been the wounds from Danté’s shots. The one in my arm, which had been the one the bullet had hit, was worse than the one in my left leg. That one was quite simple to clean and start healing, actually. But even a glance told me that my arm was going to be a mess.

Infection had set in almost immediately, it looked like. Not only that, in stopping the bleeding the way I had, I’d actually made a bit of a mess out of the muscle there. I’d have to tear into it before I could heal it properly, but doing that before I cleaned out the infection meant I could send the infection through my body. At the same time, if I _didn’t_ open the wound back up, it would take magic, not a trick, to clean out the infection.

I scowled, trying to make up my mind. Risk the infection spreading and making even more of a mess, or exhaust myself anyway?

I sighed and reached out with the earth, sun, and wind Energies I needed and focused on what I was doing. I needed to be as precise as possible...

“Hey, Kairi?”

My hand slipped, a cut opening down my arm, and I scowled when I saw the trails of infection spreading. I slipped back into my body to glare at Seth, who was looking at my arm in shock.

“What?!” I spat. Seth stepped back, hands coming up in an ‘I surrender’ position.

“I was just gonna ask if you wanted seconds. We had quite a bit left over,” he said. I growled, and judging from the shocked looks I was getting, it hadn’t been a pretty comment. “Or not...”

“I had a wound there that got infected and now it’s in my bloodstream because I wasn’t able to reopen the wound properly,” I said in a low voice. “And now I have to work twice as hard to clean the whole thing up as I would have if I’d just used magic instead of trying the trick.”

Seth flinched. “Sorry...”

“’Sorry’ doesn’t cut it this time. And if _any_ of you bother me again before I come back off the second plane, I will personally see to it that you are roasted and eaten.”

Seth turned and made a beeline for the other side of the campfire, while Reighn edged away from me slightly.

I slipped back out of my body and turned back to my arm, muttering curses under my breath the entire time, already collecting up Energies.

Suffice to say, by the time I was done, I was quite happy to simply return to my body, flop over, and fall asleep.

I woke the next morning to Reighn cautiously shaking me awake. I glanced around. The sun was just coming up. Which meant I’d been a lot more tired than I’d thought. I forcibly shrugged it off and stood, stretching and glancing around. Seth, it seemed, was avoiding looking at me, and I sighed, walking over to him. I noted that the dark brown cloak was sat off to the side on a log.

Seth glanced up at me, flinched, and turned back to the fire he was trying to bring back up to a full blaze. I absent-mindedly waved a hand through a few fire and wind Energies and sent them flying at the fire. It went from attempting to burn to the desired intensity in just a moment, and Seth sighed, letting his makeshift poker drop to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

Seth looked over at me before turning back to the fire, preparing our breakfast quietly. “Your arm okay?” he asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. It just took a lot more energy than I’d have liked,” I said. I looked over at Luke, who was also still asleep on his back. Bandages wrapped around his torso and one of his shoulders, and I frowned, standing and walking over. I sat down next to him and slipped out of my body again, feeling through the gashes and cringing.

Like my arm, his wounds had gotten infected. In fact... Luke was running a low fever already. I sighed and dropped back into my body, looking around for the man who had woken me. I spotted him next to Sorylle and Dark.

“Reighn?”

He turned, giving me a curious look, and I waved him over. “What is it?” he asked. I sighed.

“Luke’s wounds. They’re infected. They were never properly healed, so I can cleanse them without too much difficulty. But it would be easier if the bandages weren’t in the way,” I said. Reighn nodded, and he and Dark, who had followed after a moment, lifted Luke carefully into a sitting position, Dark holding him there while Reighn unwound the bandages.

A little bit of red had bled through them overnight, but as Reighn unwrapped the second layer, a thin line of sickly yellow started to form around the red, the yellow getting wider as he came to the lower layers.

The claw marks themselves were a dark red where blood and pus continued to seep out. Unfortunately, right around the lacerations, the skin was a very bright red, with a yellowish discoloration spreading from there. I made a face, knowing this wasn’t going to be pretty... or comfortable for Luke. In fact...

I reached into my bag and pulled out my morphine, finding a fresh needle and filling the syringe with about a third of how much I had to inject every day to fight off the pain from my miasma-wrecked body. It would be more than enough to keep Luke numb without him being unconscious much longer than he would have been.

“Ouch,” Dark muttered. I nodded once, unable to help but agree with the quiet statement.

Once Luke was dosed, I slipped half onto the second plane and started pulling together Energies. Mostly water, but some of the other five as well. Then I went to work.

By the time Luke came to, I was mostly done. He looked at me with bleary eyes and tilted his head to the side.

“What are you doing?”

“Cleaning out the infection.”

Luke blinked a few more times.

“Why is everything numb?”

“Because I gave you morphine when I started, since I knew you’d be in a lot of pain otherwise.”

“Why do you have morphine?”

“Because my body’s a wreck.”

“Why is your body a wreck?”

“Because I forgot about something mildly important when Asch, Sync, and I started visiting the passage rings.”

“What did you forget?”

“The miasma.”

“What’s the miasma got to do with anything?”

“The seventh fonons in the core are contaminated with it.”

“Huh?”

I smiled, glad that I’d finally run Luke’s morphine-addled brain into a corner it couldn’t quite find a way out of. I finished cleaning the infection out right about then, and after mopping up the _clean_ blood that was flowing out of his wounds now, I started setting them to heal. Unfortunately, the imprints from the infection made healing him fully almost impossible, which meant that Reighn and I had to wrap him back up.

While Reighn was finishing that up, I flushed the remaining morphine from Luke’s system. The redhead shook his head a bit to help clear away the fog, and he looked up at me with clearer eyes.

“Heh... sorry.”

I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. I knew you’d be out of it when you came to the minute I decided to dose you, so I was prepared for that. Those are going to scar though. Nothing I can do about that now,” I said. Luke looked down at his mummy-wrapped torso and sighed.

“It could be worse. I could have had to fight off the infection the old fashioned way.” I smiled and nodded, and noted Ion walking over. I wondered idly where he had been all morning. After all, Natalia was still asleep on the other side of camp.

Or at least, she had been. Sometime while I was working on Luke, she had woken up and started helping Seth with our breakfast. Seth walked over a moment later with two plates, handing them to me and Luke, before heading back to the fire and grabbing another two for Dark and Reighn. Ion sat next to Natalia to eat his own breakfast.

“Don’t forget that we’re meeting with the two queens this morning,” Dark said before digging into his food. I just nodded, devouring mine at a faster clip than I usually would. I was rather hungry, it seemed... Huh... Maybe I should start paying more attention to my body’s needs...

Once I was done, I glanced around, and realized with a sinking feeling that it was my turn to deal with the dishes. I grumbled under my breath and stood, leaving my plate behind and heading off to practice artes.

I started drawing sixth and second fonons together. I’d mastered Holy Lance with and without Energies, so I was hoping I’d be able to pull off Cluster Raid now. I was using Energies this time, though, because I didn’t want to risk being too low a level for pure fonons. I had a feeling I was high enough, but I didn’t want to risk it.

I felt the fonons reacting even as I prepared to shape them, and I smirked. “Rain down, o crystals of light! Cluster Raid!”

My smirk became a wide grin as the arte formed perfectly. It was rare that I managed the field of fonon arte on the first try, but I’d gotten very lucky this time.

“Care to learn another fifth-fonon arte?” Dark asked, walking over to stand next to me. I shrugged.

“Why not?”

He chuckled, then started explaining the arte he had in mind. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was Witches’ Circle.

Of course, the two of us practicing meant that Reighn and Seth ended up joining in, and while I started in on Witches’ Circle, Seth spent that time practicing Gravity Well, which was leaving behind earth-based fields of fonons.

After a blue Witches’ Circle landed in one of those and I felt an odd twinge, I had Seth unleash the next one a bit closer, while I loosely gathered up some fifth fonons.

Another Gravity Well deposited a field of fonons, and I stepped into it and started casting. Sure enough, the second fonons collected up into me, and Dark made a startled sound.

“Careful, you don’t know what that’ll do!” he yelled.

I just smirked. Witches’ Circle was based on a spell circle, which meant that a second-fonon based spell circle would result in... Yep. “Come forth, o ancient ring of ritual! Stone Gate!”

Eight gilded stone pillars rose from the ground from the points of the pentacle and triquetra. A ninth shot up from the center. Blue fire danced between those pillars before they all faded, and I crossed my arms and smirked at Dark.

“You have much to learn in the art of Energies,” I stated. Dark sighed, shaking his head in exasperation before giving Seth a pointed look. The Jedi-dressed replica chuckled and started charging up yet another Gravity Well, while I started in on attempting a Stone Gate without the field of fonons.

Might as well help with that. Besides... Stone Gate felt more correct than Witches’ Circle anyway.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _And herein we find Kairi’s most recent arte, proof that Dark really only half knows what he’s doing mucking around with her spell circles._


	62. Chapter 6.9 - Conflicts and Sidequests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, about halfway through Chapter 6, I apparently stopped getting everything formatted before uploading to FFnet, so I'm having to fight with stuff now. -sighs-

_“When did_ that _happen?” –Kairi_

_“You’re alive!” –Kairi_

* * *

I walked next to Twilight, one hand in his mane. He was uncomfortable with this, and I didn’t really blame him. He’d been outcasted for befriending an eastern liger, and while relations between the eastern and western clans seemed to have diffused quite a bit, we were walking right into the hornet’s nest.

I glanced around the small depression in the dunes along the beach. Twilight’s grandmother lay next to a large group of red, orange, and purple ligers, and I noted two of them in particular. One was Autumn, the orange-maned liger who had carried Natalia and Dark here. The other was a liger who, aside from the fact that her orange markings were a bit darker, was practically identical to Twilight.

I realized then that Twilight’s family was, in fact, the ‘royal’ family of the western clan, much as Sorylle was the daughter of the eastern Clan Queen.

The liger that looked like Twilight looked at me and growled something. I settled the telepathic field over the area.

*You are Kairi?* she asked. I nodded. She made something of a humming noise. *I am Evena. My son tells me you are his fang-sister. Before the eastern queen joins us, would you mind telling me how this happened?*

I smiled, leaning against the liger next to me. *Twilight was with a few southern ligers when I met him, for lack of better company, I suppose. We both shared a dislike of the girl the southern ligers were following, and it just went from there. I have a habit of adopting pretty much anyone into my strange little family, and Twilight just fit in. Though I’d definitely miss him if he left now,* I said. Evena seemed amused.

*I see. I must admit, I am grateful to you. Were it not for you, my son may never have come back to us to change our stubborn ways,* she said. Autumn, who stood next to her, shook herself.

*I’m grateful to have my brother back as well, even if just for a short time,* she said.

Sorylle, Illeka, and a few other eastern ligers appeared over the edge of the depression then, coming to join the dozen or so Alphas that were already scattered around. Evena rose and nodded her head to Illeka, one queen to another, I suppose.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Illeka said. Evena shook her head.

“No. Thank you, for allowing us another chance to do what was right. I had begun to fear we dallied too long in the errors of the past,” the western queen replied. I smiled, watching as the two continued to apologize for past wrongs. Then they turned to me, Dark, Sorylle, and Twilight.

“The ice bridges come. They will reach land within the next two days. The cold water that precedes them touches the shores already,” Illeka said. Evena nodded.

“We spoke in private last night with none but our mates as advisors, and we have agreed. There will be no western clan,” the silver liger continued.

“There will be no eastern clan,” Illeka added. The two glanced at each other. “There will be the southern clan of the warm forests, and the northern clan of the cold forests. When the illness that plagues the southern clan has died out, some of our people will return.”

“They will restructure the southern clan, return it to its original form,” Evena explained.

Twilight’s ears perked up. “You’re combining the two clans?”

The two queens nodded, and Sorylle tilted her head to the side. “Then...” she started slowly, as if she was scared of what she was about to say.

Illeka made a rumbling noise that was the liger equivalent of a chuckle. “Yes.”

Sorylle’s jaw opened in a liger grin and she jumped around me and Dark to tackle Twilight. I blinked, watching them roll off. “When did _that_ happen?” I wondered. Dark chuckled.

“I don’t know. And, let’s be honest. Does it matter?”

I grinned. “Nope.”

The two queens both made their rumbling noise, before a chorus of growls started echoing across the beach. I turned and stared, wondering if I was hearing them correctly.

“Shall we go see for ourselves?” Illeka asked. Evena stepped up to me, allowing me onto her back, while Illeka carried Dark. The two of them, with Autumn and two other ligers (given that they were both male and there was an eastern and a western each, I guessed they were the queens’ mates), headed for a rocky part of the beach. There was a nice outcropping there that made it possible to look out over a wide expanse of ocean.

We stopped up on that outcropping, and I smiled. Out in the distance, and seeming to grow closer with each passing moment, was what appeared to be a sheet of white, floating on the ocean. The ice bridges were approaching.

“I hope they’re all ready. It won’t be long now,” Dark said. I nodded.

“Yeah. Not long at all.”

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

It was almost two weeks later, after seeing the ligers off across the ice bridges and turning to head for Grand Chokmah, that we actually arrived in the city. And to be honest, it had only taken so long because we’d made a detour just north of Mushroom Road. Sure enough, I’d found a flightstone.

Okay. No one aside from me knew it was a flightstone (no one knew I’d picked it up, period), but I’d found it anyway, and it would probably come in handy later.

We’d also noted a rather strong earthquake, and I’d figured it was the rest of Rugnica falling into the Qliphoth.

The minute Grand Chokmah came into view, Natalia, Ion, and I all sighed in relief. Natalia and Ion because they weren’t used to spending so many weeks straight in the wilderness.

Me, because I really, really needed a change of clothes.

It took every ounce of my self-control to not simply race ahead of the others. Still, we all picked up the pace, and made it to the city just after nightfall. Of course, this brought along a number of other problems.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” one of the guards called, having spotted us—finally—as we neared the gates. And when I say ‘neared’ I mean ‘came within five yards.’ Sheesh...

I rolled my eyes and listed our group off, and two of the three guards (the two who hadn’t spoken) took off their helmets. My eyes widened, probably comically, when I realized who they were.

“Marco! Levi! You’re alive!”

The two soldiers chuckled, while the third looked at them, huffed, and reluctantly relaxed.

“Yeah. Thanks to him,” Marco said, nodding to the orange-haired man. “He’s the one who suggested switching armor with a couple of the Oracle Knights we’d killed. Soon as we could, we hightailed it outta there.”

“Good thing, too, since it sounds like the men on the Tartarus didn’t survive Akzeriuth’s destruction,” Levi added. I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Yeah. We got lucky, even when Tear’s fonic hymn tossed us. Most of us survived without too much damage,” I said. Dark snorted, and I rolled my eyes. “You and Valkyria were the only casualties in our group, shut up.” He broke up laughing at that one, while the two soldiers chuckled along.

The typical clanking of armor caught our attention, and the rest of us turned to see another trio of soldiers heading toward us. Marco smirked.

“Hey, there they are.”

“Get lost?” Levi asked. One of the soldiers aimed a punch at his shoulder.

“Shut up, ginger.”

I raised an eyebrow, remembering that Jade had said Alex had gotten off lightly as well. Was that...?

“Hey, recognize someone?” Levi asked, shoving a thumb my direction. The soldier looked at me, wry smile twisting his lips up.

“Well, if it isn’t Maes. Nice to see you again.”

I grinned. “Same.”

“Oi, I’d like to head back in now,” the third soldier from Levi and Marco’s group grumbled. Levi laughed.

“Right... Come on,” he said, gesturing to the rest of us. The second group of guards didn’t argue as we followed the first group into the city.

“We have to go report. See you around?” Marco said. I nodded and waved the three off before stopping to consider something.

“Well. Are we going to bother the emperor, or are we going to rent rooms at the inn?” Dark asked. I crossed my arms, glancing at the sky and the distantly-visible palace before shaking my head.

“Inn. I’m not up to dealing with His Majesty at this hour.”

“Right. You’re usually hitting the sack about now.”

I rolled my eyes and made a beeline for the inn. No one argued. We’d been walking all day, and that, combined with more than a few monsters, had made the trek to Grand Chokmah a tedious, exhausting one. I wasn’t the only one looking forward to a nice, soft bed.

I glanced around. Natalia and I were the only girls, so...

“Dark, you get to sleep in a room with the ligers. Mieu’s small enough to fit about anywhere... Reighn, who do you want to share with?” I asked. The bluenette shrugged.

“I was gonna say, I’ll stay with the ligers, because Ion should stay the night with Dark. He needs to do the maintenance on his guns and I don’t have a clue how to do it,” he said. I nodded.

“So, Dark and Ion, Luke and Seth, and Reighn’s with the ligers,” I muttered, stepping into the inn and walking over to the desk. The woman looked up and smiled.

“Ah, Miss Balfour. Hmm? Where’s your red-haired friend?”

I smiled. “Asch is with my brother, and Sync is in Daath. This is Sync’s brother,” I said, correcting her assumption that Ion was Sync. “Four rooms, please.” She nodded, but paused and made a small sound as she glanced over us. I kept up the smile. “Oh, don’t mind the ligers. They won’t cause any problems.”

She just blinked a few times before nodding and scribbling something down on her roster. A moment later, she was handing over four keys and muttering a price. I handed over the gald without even flinching. I knew her too well. She wouldn’t dare overcharge me for the ligers for fear of having to deal with Jade.

I passed out keys, grabbed Natalia, and made a beeline for our room. As usual, I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Of course, the first thing I did the next morning was wander off toward the palace. No one else was up yet (I’d expected that, since the sun hadn’t even risen) but I figured Peony wouldn’t mind the early wake up call, given what I was going to discuss with him.

Well, I had to get to the palace first. Given the number of detours I was taking, it would probably be well after seven by the time I got there.

“Well now, what do we have here?”

Normally, when I hear this sentence, it’s followed up by a scowl and some would-be-rapist getting their ass kicked. However, when these words are spoken instead by a certain blue-coated member of the Dark Wings, they’re greeted by a grin and some return joking.

“Nothing but a wandering little lady,” I said. York chuckled.

“Would the little lady like an escort?”

“Only if he doesn’t object the wandering.”

Now, before anyone gets any ideas, think about this. York is in his thirties, just a few months younger than Jade, actually. So the above isn’t the flirting it sounds like. York has become something of an uncle to me, which is why we’re so casually joking around with each other.

I’d originally planned on saving the clothing design conversation for Emperor Peony, but it didn’t take much for me to start talking to York about it. One thing led to another, and the both of us ended up pushing rappigs out of the way while Peony laughed from behind the door to his projects room.

“You don’t mind that I brought him along, do you?” I asked a bit late as I closed the door, cutting Kairi-Rappig off from getting in. Peony laughed.

“Not at all. The more the merrier, right?”

Which is why the three of us were sat down with random strips of fabric and ribbon all over the place two hours later when the sounds of irritated rappigs reached our ears. A moment later, Dark poked his head in.

“Yeah, they’re all in here,” he said, apparently answering someone’s question. Likely Noir’s, since she was the next to step in. I looked up at them and grinned, standing—and displacing a bunch of ribbons—to show off the new clothes I’d put on sometime between arriving and then.

Simple black, elbow-length fingerless gloves had replaced the two of differing lengths. My armlet was still there around my right arm. I’d gotten better with Energies, but I still didn’t trust myself not to lose control of them.

Black flames hemmed the bottom of a blue skirt with spandex shorts underneath, while the black upper half of my strapless top hugged my chest, silvery bottom half flowing around me but leaving my midriff bare. Black leg warmers with blue flames around the bottom edge and a blue cape that barely reached my knees completed my current look, since I hadn’t pulled on the silver boots yet.

“Well?”

Noir smiled. “You look good in that.”

I grinned. “I wanted my blue flames back, but I gave Emperor Peony mostly free reign. We’ve also started another project, though this one’s gonna take longer,” I said. Peony chuckled.

“It should be done on time, though,” he added. Dark and the others I could see through the open door all gave me wary looks, while York chuckled.

“It will most certainly be interesting,” he said, standing only after folding things up. “I take it you’re wanting to leave?” he guessed, looking to Noir. She crossed her arms.

“Reighn’s asked us for transport. We were actually looking for Kairi to see where we should be headed next,” she said. “Though Dark said Baticul would be a good idea.”

I frowned, thinking over the timeline, and then nodded. “Yes, though we’d best be cautious. If Mohs is right, and Natalia isn’t really Ingobert’s daughter, she’s likely to be wanted for impersonating the princess. Same with Luke, though Asch and Duke Fabre should be able to diffuse most of that situation,” I said. Luke glanced past me, and Peony sighed.

“Don’t give me that look. With most of Rugnica in the Qliphoth, there’s not a lot I can do,” he said. I nodded.

“And we don’t have the Albiore,” I added. “Besides, the fighting’s probably stopped anyway. They’d be crazy not to.”

“But the war...” Natalia started. Dark sighed.

“We start with Mohs,” he said. “Baticul then.”

I nodded once and grabbed my boots. “Let’s go.”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _And here is our first hint of something rather important to the beginnings of Book 3~_


	63. Chapter 6.10 - Conflicts and Sidequests

_*We’ll see you guys in Daath... Wait... Should we really be taking Kairi there?* –Asch_

* * *

“We’re making a stop outside Tataroo Valley,” Urushi said, sticking his head into the rather cramped interior of the transport. Cramped, because the area usually saved for feet and legs was completely taken up by two ligers who were doubling up as extra seating. But, that’s what happens when you put eight people and two ligers in a transport meant for six people at the most.

Not that any of us were complaining. Dark, Ion, and I were curled up with the ligers, Natalia and Noir got one seat, and Reighn, Seth, and Luke got the other. York and Urushi were both up top.

I had also found out something interesting about the strange dragon-esque things that served as horses here on Auldrant. They were apparently called amicaydras. Some breeds were aquatic, others entirely terrestrial, and some were primarily terrestrial, but built for living near or in water. The terrestrial kind was apparently the easiest to tame (which is why they were made to pull carriages) but the kind that could almost double as aquatic were the ones York and Urushi had trained up.

Which, in conjunction to buoys similar to those on the Tartarus, meant we could move over water as well as land.

Handy.

But that’s how we got to Tataroo Valley. Okay... it had taken a week of island-jumping, but we’d gotten there.

Dark muttered an acknowledgement, while I continued what I’d been doing.

What was I doing, you may ask?

You’ll find out later. Much later, but you’ll find out. It’s already been hinted at, I’m sure.

And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’d started poking around to see what my doppelganger can pick up on. It had been an interesting week, despite doing nothing but traveling.

“So, what are we going to do tonight?” Seth asked. For most of the trip, whenever we had stopped for a night, a number of us had found ourselves at a loss for what to do once camp had been made and dinner started. York was usually sewing something—though the cloth had gone from orange to sky blue after the second night—while Urushi fiddled with a piece of fontech. Noir spent much of her time with Natalia, berating the blonde’s low self-confidence while stubbornly trying to impress upon her the importance of feminine allure.

I had the feeling York’s new project was at Noir’s behest and meant for Natalia, not the thing he, Peony, and I were working on.

Of course, I was working on my part of aforementioned project, while everyone else—Dark, Luke, Ion, Seth, Reighn, and the monsters—were left to their own devices.

Seth seemed to have taken it upon himself to be our perimeter guard. Luke and Ion were taking the time to learn as much about cooking as Reighn could be bothered to teach them. Dark would spend time studying the amicaydras, though I would hear muttered curses every time they decided that he needed a bath. They were very good at drenching someone when they felt like it, which would lead to Twilight and Sorylle laughing at Dark’s misfortune for falling for the trick over and over again.

It seemed that after about four nights of this, the others had gotten irritated and Seth and Reighn had spearheaded an attempt at us actually _doing_ something other than simply sitting around bored out of our minds. York and I had no problems with the lack of things to do, given our projects, and Urushi was happy enough muddling around with his fontech gadgets, but the others were getting a bit stir-crazy.

I frowned and thought over it. “We’ve been traveling almost non-stop from Grand Chokmah, and most of that’s been through water. I think it would be best if we gave the amicaydras a couple days to rest and wander around on land before we continue,” I said.

Noir nodded her agreement. “Yes... We usually don’t make them do this much swimming. Unfortunately, with the ferries down and everything else that’s going on, we haven’t got much of a choice.”

Dark sighed. “It’s too bad there’s only one Albiore. It’d be nice if we could move around in two separate groups all the time.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And why not? Class M has a second hover drive, don’t they? I know you said the Albiore I crashed and had to be left out in the Meggiora Highlands, but couldn’t they just build an Albiore III?” And Aston would... Though I hoped he’d be able to do it with Iemon and Tamara this time.

Dark, Reighn, and Seth all looked at me with the same expression, before Seth and Reighn turned on Dark, who had been the one idiotic enough to comment about it. The former assassin made a face, while Natalia hummed.

“Kairi’s right. If we end up back near Sheridan, we should ask about it,” she said. “After all, who knows where all we’ll be needed. We have enough people, we can split up into two groups without too much compromising.”

Reighn sighed and looked over at Ion. “What about Sync? We agreed not to leave him in Daath any longer than we absolutely had to.”

Ion frowned. “I think we should use tonight to start making a plan. Though I can’t say how well we’ll be able to do that, given that we don’t know what the other group is doing or has managed to accomplish since we split up in Chesedonia.”

Luke and I exchanged a look before he cringed. “I can contact Asch,” he said. I nodded.

“And I should be able to piggy-back on that connection so we can _all_ hear. Now that I know I can do something like that...” I trailed off as the coach came to a stop, and readied myself for Twilight’s inevitable jump out. Once he was out, I turned and followed, Ion, Dark, and Sorylle right behind. Only then did the five in the seats leave the coach.

Seth and I exchanged a look and then headed off into the nearby forest for firewood while the others unhitched the amicaydras and set up the tents. Only three, rather than the four you would think since we were doubled up and Noir and Urushi always slept in the coach (Noir because she was bossy, and Urushi because, unlike Jade, he really was an old man). We always had two people on watch at any given time, since one person had to keep an eye on the amicaydras and the other had to watch for any enemies.

Of course, once camp had been set up and supper started, all of us save York and Urushi gathered near where Reighn was making our food. Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and I sat next to him, mind almost fully connected to his.

The moment he opened a stable connection to Asch, I jumped through it.

*Don’t block us off,* I said quickly, before Asch had a chance to do just that.

“Urk!”

“Asch? What’s wrong?” I heard Jade asked. I pulled away from Luke just a bit and started connecting minds.

*Sorry. We all needed to talk,* I said, knowing that everyone could now hear me. Of course, my wording clued the others into the fact that I’d connected _everyone_.

*Ion! Why did you and Sync switch!? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?!* Anise yelled. I saw everyone on my end flinch.

*I’m sorry, Anise. But we needed to look into something in Daath, and neither of us was comfortable sending me by myself,* he admitted.

*Besides, if it weren’t for Sync’s argument that Asch should go with you all, Ion would be here without a Fon Master Guard at all,* Reighn added. *Though, him and Luke being able to contact each other like this is definitely a bonus.*

*That said... Kairi...* Asch started. I sighed. I knew that tone all too well.

*We can have this argument later. For now... Where are you guys?*

*The Qliphoth,* Jade said bluntly.

*Still?!*

*With Chesedonia down here now as well as the battlefield, Brigadier General Frings is trying to arrange a ceasefire and a prisoner transfer,* Asch said. *Actually, right now we’re picking up him and a few other higher-ups and taking them to Chesedonia to arrange things with Astor to get Engeve’s citizens back to the town. Those soldiers need food, and so do all of the merchants, refugees, and whatnot in Chesedonia.*

I nodded, remembering that sidequest from the game, if only barely. I’d only started it twice, and never finished the second time because I’d gotten so fed up with the back and forth.

*And after you’re done there?* Dark asked.

*Jade wants to ask Sync about something before we head to Baticul,* Asch said.

*Kairi, be careful. Van’s meddling with the passage rings is putting a lot of stress on them. I don’t know how long we have before they start breaking, but at this point, it’s starting to look like we won’t be able to do anything to stop it,* Jade added. I nodded, though he couldn’t see it.

*We’ll meet you in Daath then.*

*A good thing we stopped here. I don’t think York and Urushi would have appreciated if we decided that after we made it to Baticul,* Noir said. Jade chuckled.

*No, I don’t imagine they would.*

*Colonel, was that...?*

*Noir, of the Dark Wings. Yes.*

*Old lady...* Anise muttered.

*Anise, she can hear you,* Ion said sweetly. Too sweetly. Noir laughed.

*Yes, I remember you too, little girl.*

*Guys...* Luke groaned. Dark chuckled.

*We’ll see you guys in Daath... Wait...* A few groans echoed around. *Should we really be taking Kairi there?*

Silence reigned. At least for about a minute.

*Well... we can’t exactly dump her in the water between here and there,* Seth noted. I rolled my eyes.

*I promise to stay out of trouble.*

*Like that’s ever helped us before,* Asch grumbled. I hung my head.

*I don’t do it on purpose!*

*Just as long as I don’t have to carry you to the port only to get on a ferry to Baticul again.*

*Even though we need to go to Baticul after Daath?* Luke asked. Asch was silent for a moment, stewing in his own irritation.

*Just shut up.*

The connection between Asch and Luke broke, and I held back a scream as Jade, Anise, Tear, Selenia, and Asch were all simultaneously cut away from my mind, something that felt akin to a limb being chopped off. In fact, every telepathic connection had broken.

“Kairi? Are you alright?” Natalia asked, noting my discomfort. I scowled.

“Remind me to tell Asch never to do that again,” I said.

“Dinner?” Reighn asked. Of course, this led to something just short of mad scrambling to get food, and I frowned as I ate. Reighn noted the expression and raised an eyebrow. “What? My stroganoff not up to your standards?” He was teasing, but the truth was...

“No... Sorry. This is one of those things I’ll have to show you my version for you to understand it. It is good, though. A lot better than Sync’s... Which is part of the reason why I’ve forbidden him from making anything that involves pasta...” I rambled. Ion and Reighn both gave me curious looks, and I sighed. “He’s hopeless. He either over-cooks the pasta, undercooks it, or is so focused on getting the pasta right that the sauce burns.”

Reighn snorted. “So that’s why we only ate pasta when I cooked it... Which was pretty much every other time it was my turn to cook... For someone that can’t cook pasta to save his life, why does he ask for it so often?” he wondered. I smiled.

“Blame me. My recipe book is with Asch, but it’s mostly pasta dishes. In fact, I cooked pasta so often that Asch swore if I wasn’t so good at making all of them taste so different, he would refuse to even touch pasta ever again,” I admitted. “I’m guessing that Sync is why you’ve got as many pasta recipes as you do?”

Reighn smirked. “Yeah. Sync would bug me about a certain recipe and I’d have to look all over the place to find it. Bit of a pain, really, though I’ve got to admit, some of the things he made me find were pretty good. Sounds like I’m rather a bit of an amateur though.”

I shrugged. “Meh. I always enjoyed pasta. It’s one of Sync’s favorites now too, no thanks to him being rather impressionable, but even if it wasn’t...” I trailed off and shrugged. “Well, at any rate...”

“If you and Sync like pasta, and you already mentioned Asch really only likes it because you can make it in so many ways, what does he like?” Luke asked.

I grinned. “My idea of a salad. It generally involves lots of things that aren’t lettuce, though if you really look at it, it’s two-thirds greens and a third other stuff, but the other stuff is fun and you don’t really notice that there’s more lettuce than the extras ‘cause it’s balanced nicely and tastes really good.”

Natalia tilted her head to the side. “What all do you put in?”

I frowned and thought about it. “Well, we’re all a little different. There’s always some kind of meat. I like to cook it and then cut it up and distribute it... That seasoning from back when Luke joined us? I usually used that on the meat... Hmm... after that... We usually had some cherry tomatoes, though it was amusing, because I’d dump about eight into mine, Asch would take five or six, and Sync would just take two or three. Sync doesn’t care for cherry tomatoes, by the way. He’ll eat a regular tomato like I eat a peach, but heavens help us if he has to eat more than a couple cherry tomatoes.”

After a short round of laughter and a moment of stuffing food in my mouth, I swallowed and continued. “Shredded cheese was something Sync and I practically fought over. Asch usually ended up with less, not that he minded. And if we had any eggs that we’d had for a while that we needed to use up quick, we’d hard-boil them, slice ‘em up, and dump them in. And dressing, as usual. It was always funny. We’d tease each other over what we ended up putting in, and there would always be at least one bit of lettuce thrown at someone. It never escalated into an all-out food fight, I mean, we didn’t want to be wasteful, but still...”

Natalia smiled. “It sounds like you three had a lot of fun, traveling.” I shrugged, poking around the last few bites.

“It was wonderful, while it lasted.” I frowned, my appetite gone, and stood. “I’m taking a walk.”

*You can finish it,* I added to Mieu.

I needed some time alone.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _FOOD! ...is mostly based on whatever the heck I’m eating when I type it. Also, yes, the thing with the salad is very much accurate where Kairi and I were involved._


	64. Chapter 7.1 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_“I was hoping you’d ask.” –Dark_

_“Little late now, don’t you think?” –Dark_

* * *

Natalia stared, while I let a demented smirk cross my features.

“How...?” the blonde asked. I laughed.

The familiar thwack of a hand hitting a forehead came from behind me, and I glanced back to see that it had been Dark who’d decided a face-palm was needed.

“...Um... Why is there a sword stuck in the ground here?” Seth asked. Reighn blinked a few times.

“Ah... Correct me if I’m wrong, but... Isn’t that a...”

“Sword Dancer?” Dark supplied. Judging from Reighn’s startled expression, he’d been about to ask that. Dark sighed. “Yeah. And Kairi has some really fucked-up fascination with fighting the damn thing.”

I shrugged. “If you don’t wanna help, you don’t have to.”

“I’m staying out of this one this time, I think,” Natalia said. Reighn glanced around, sighed, and gently pushed Ion over toward her.

“Keep him out of it then. I’ll admit his aim is getting really good, but from what I’ve read, the Sword Dancer is _not_ something you want to send an amateur against,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“No derp. It gets stronger every time you fight it,” I muttered. I glanced around. Natalia and Ion were out, and Reighn seemed to have decided he wanted in, so... “Sorylle and Twilight don’t count in his four-human count, so Dark? Care to join in this time?”

Dark smirked and nodded. “I was hoping you’d ask. I’d like to try a couple of things out on it. You said it doesn’t like sixth fonons, right?”

I nodded, and looked back and forth between Seth and Luke. Neither of them looked sure about this fight, but they hadn’t backed out yet, so...

It basically came down to, did I want to use my katana or my bow? Silver Clematis was out of the question, we couldn’t use the Sword Dancer’s own weapons against it. So... Sword it was.

“Seth?”

Jade’s replica sighed, but summoned up his swallow-blade anyway and started twirling it, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Luke retreated to stand by Natalia and Ion, while I wandered over to Ultimatus.

_:Hehehe... You have learned the rules already... Prepare!:_

I jumped back as the usual mass of darkness flowed out of the sword, my katana appearing in my hand. Then I ran back in, starting right into a spin immediately as sixth fonons gathered. “Guardian Field!”

A wide sweep of a sword sent me flying back again, and I scowled at the cut across my abdomen even as I focused the correct Energies toward it. Reighn’s Meditation a minute later helped, too.

I nodded to myself, taking a deep breath before running in again. I’d leave most of the big damage to the others. My job for now would be keeping the Sword Dancer away from the fonists.

Twilight and Sorylle danced around its feet, biting at it, clawing at it, and being the general nuisances they were known to be. The three of us together, with Twilight throwing the occasional Thunder Lance or Sorylle tossing out an Ice Stream. I’d alternate between Havoc Strike and Raging Blast when I was in close (both kept being turned into their field of fonons counterparts, thanks to Sorylle’s Ice Stream and Seth and Reighn’s uses of Eruption and Flame Burst whenever they weren’t healing us.

“Got it!” Dark called, sixth fonons dancing around him. “Stardust Rain!”

I couldn’t help but gape at how pretty the arte was, even as I noted that it really was an effective arte to use against something as big as the Sword Dancer. What looked like tiny, colored crystals were shooting for the ground, hitting the dark enemy and going through it, probably very painfully too, if the way it immediately started thrashing was any indication.

Then it let out a shockwave, and I cursed quietly, retreating for a moment to get an idea of the situation. Twilight and Sorylle seemed to have the same idea, and the six of us ended up in a large circle around the edges of the shield, the two ligers taking turns darting out one at a time to keep it from getting too close to me and the three fonists. Seth was gathering up fifth fonons again, only for something to subtly shift before he could cast. The replica grinned.

“Try this one, then! Dragon’s Flower!”

Dark jumped a bit at the blaze that really did look something like a flower, and Seth cringed. “Whoops... I’d meant to warn you when I figured that one out...”

Dark rolled his eyes as the Sword Dancer’s over-limit faded out and the ligers and I finally unleashed the Holy Lance I’d been casting. “Little late now, don’t you think?” he grumbled, collecting up sixth fonons again. Probably for another round of Stardust Rain.

I ran back in, giving Twilight a few moments to retreat and breath while I unleashed a trio of swings followed up by a Havoc Strike and a Raging Blast. Of course, that left _me_ winded, so I ran away from the Sword Dancer so Sorylle could get to it easily with another Ice Stream.

“O vibrant comets, let your light purify this land! Stardust Rain!”

Yep, called it. I jumped in for a Burning Havoc and cleared out again, noting that Seth was prepping another fifth-fonon arte. Eruption, or...?

“O ancient flame of desire, bloom with all your fury! Dragon’s Flower!”

I smirked and made use of the second field of fonons left behind to drop yet another Burning Havoc.

The Sword Dancer managed to time its swings just right, and a shockwave of first fonons slammed into me, throwing me into the barrier. I cursed quietly and pushed myself to my feet, noting how close the enemy had gotten to Dark and Seth. Reighn was a ways off from the two of them, and Dark was already collecting up sixth fonons again.

In fact, Twilight and Sorylle were both on the far side of the battlefield too. Which meant that Dark’s arte was about to get interrupted, because there was no way I was going to make it over there fast enough.

Seth scowled, twirling his sparrow-blade as he ran at the Sword Dancer. I started moving. While Seth wouldn’t be able to hold it off long, he’d be able to stall it just long enough for me to get between it and Dark as well. The two of us together would be able to keep it back.

Or at least, that was the plan. Seth swung his blade out toward the Sword Dancer, ducking as it slashed back at him, then side-stepped and brought it around again.

One of the blades the Sword Dancer held lashed out, and Seth moved to bring his sparrow-blade down to block, but even from five yards away, I knew he wasn’t going to manage it in time.

I choked out something of a war cry even as the Sword Dancer’s weapon hit Seth, the teen crying out and falling back. Reighn was the next one to start running in, with the obvious intention of picking Seth up and carrying him out of the way to be healed. I slashed at the Sword Dancer, finishing off with a Raging Blast that was probably a little over-powered, if the fire in my arm was any indication. Whatever. It knocked the damn thing back so Reighn could get around it to Seth.

“Stardust Rain!”

The Sword Dancer screeched as the light-based arte started tearing it apart again. I scowled and moved so I was behind it. Since Dark and Seth had been right up against the barrier, I figured it would be best to force the Sword Dancer into that corner. Reighn raced back past me, carrying Seth over his shoulder, while Dark had a frown on his expression. “Well? Are you going or not?” I grumbled.

Dark shook his head after just a moment and raced toward where Sorylle and I were holding off the Sword Dancer. I frowned. Dark was a fonist and long-range fighter, so why was he coming in close? Unless...

The Sword Dancer lashed out at the three up us, and I jumped, barely avoiding the shockwave. Dark didn’t bother, just settled into a defensive position and took the brunt of it. Then he started shooting, from a lot closer than normal.

I rolled under a swing, then jumped up and struck out at the Sword Dancer with my own sword. It counterattacked with a thrust from one of the other swords, and I was forced to jump back away from it or be skewered.

Two or three rounds of shockwaves later, Dark’s frown turned into a smirk, and he ran in the last yard or two and unleashed a shockwave. He didn’t bother warning the rest of us, as Twilight and Sorylle were both a ways out, having unleashed their elemental attacks, while I had been taking a short breather. My leg was starting to hurt, after all.

The world faded out, before Dark and the Sword Dancer solidified again. Dark hovered in the air in front of it, ethereal indigo-black wings holding him up and eyes closed. Light pooled in a sphere over the Sword Dancer’s head. “O divine light of the heavens,” Dark started, raising his face and hands as if to praise the sphere that was forming, though his eyes remained closed. “Consecrate this rotted soul...” His head dropped, one hand coming down to hover over his heart, while the other reached for the Sword Dancer. “So it may ascend to your holy lands!”

The sphere suddenly tripled in size, and Dark’s head shot up, eyes opening so that he could glare at our enemy. The sphere of light pulsed once, then let loose a powerful ray. “Sacred Beacon!”

The Sword Dancer let out another, unearthly screech before it collapsed to the ground, and Dark’s Mystic Arte ended. Dark stumbled a bit, but managed to stay standing, and I watched the Sword Dancer. I was getting the not-so-great feeling that this wasn’t over yet.

As if to prove me right, the Sword Dancer lifted one arm, planted the sword held by it in the ground, forced itself to its feet, and then picked up the other three weapons it had dropped. I groaned and ran at it again, suddenly wishing I’d asked for Luke instead of Seth. Luke could have unleashed a Radiant Howl that I could follow up with Fae’s Ire.

Oh well. No time to worry about what might have been.

I spun on my heel, unleashing a Guardian Field and then racing back out of its range. Twilight let loose another Thunder Lance, which was followed up by him harrying the Sword Dancer for a couple moments while I unleashed a Holy Lance. It screeched and turned to me again, and I was starting to get the idea that it wouldn’t turn back to one of the ligers anymore.

Sorylle growled to Twilight, only for both of them to be swept off their feet. Sorylle hit the ground hard, Twilight not in much better shape.

“Reighn! Raging Mist!” Dark yelled. The blue-haired man glanced up from where he was still trying to stop the bleeding on Seth and made a face, glancing down at the teen once before standing and collecting the fonons he needed.

I frowned when Dark started making frantic hand signals. A couple were a little off, but the message was clear enough. ‘Get that thing over here.’

I took a deep breath and ran past the Sword Dancer, slashing at it as I ran past and very nearly losing my head to one of its swords. Fear gripped my heart as I saw just how much blood Seth had lost and was still losing. If we didn’t finish this quickly, he could die.

Something snapped within me. I’d never truly been in this sort of a situation before. The southern ligers in the valley? That was simply a matter of keep moving, keep fighting. This? This was a completely different matter. This wasn’t a fight against something I was used to dealing with every day. This was a fight against a stronger opponent... One who had no qualms about killing me and my friends.

This is the sort of battle I would have to fight against Van, whenever he decided he was done letting Zion play around.

And that battle was one I could lose Asch and Sync to, not to mention Jade, or Reighn, or Dark...

My grip on my sword tightened, and I stopped next to Dark. The Sword Dancer wasted no time coming near us. It was out for revenge... Against what, I neither knew, nor cared.

“Partake of boiling water! Raging Mist!” Reighn chanted. I watched as the arte erupted under the Sword Dancer, and the moment it had faded, I raced in again, struck the Sword Dancer, and carefully Raging Blasted it away from the field of fonons before running around to the far side of the battlefield, readying another Holy Lance and knowing full well I’d never finish it.

Dark stepped up to the field of fonons and drew them in. He was closer to the Sword Dancer, but it didn’t care. I was its target. I was the one that was casting the offensive, light-based arte.

It came for me, and though I tried my best to collect the fonons I needed, I knew I’d never succeed in time. I came close though, even got the first few words of the chant out before that sword slammed into me, sending me flying just a couple yards into the barrier. I coughed as I came up to one knee, noting the taste of blood in my mouth. That was never a good sign...

“Spout forth, o divine waters!” Dark’s voice reached me as the Sword Dancer took a few more steps forward. I smirked. At least he’d managed to finish. “Angelic Spring!”

The healing waters bubbled up around Dark and the two ligers, while I forced myself to move and avoid the sword that would have come down on my head if I hadn’t.

“Kairi!”

“Worry about Seth!” I ordered Reighn, seeing that he was about to get up and start casting Meditation for me.

The Sword Dancer noted that Dark was collecting fonons again, seventh this time, and it finally decided that he, not I, was the bigger threat. With Reighn preoccupied, Seth effectively down for the count, and me barely able to move, the one who was still healing everyone needed to be taken out.

Dark growled, and Sorylle growled something back, obviously upset. Twilight just bowed his head before charging at the Sword Dancer. Sorylle followed a moment later, keeping it away from Dark just long enough for him to cast.

“O angel of judgment, take my soul for these innocents!”

I felt ice grip my heart. No, tell me that isn’t...

“Sacrifice!”

And even as my wounds healed, I screamed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Dark went from being a mainly long-range fighter in the original version to a mage in the rewrite. On the other hand, Danté went from being a regular magic-user in the original to primarily long-range support in this. ...Seriously, you two?_


	65. Chapter 7.2 - The Arte of Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This chapter didn't have quotes. On FFnet. O.o

_Let my Doppelganger continue to live out her life on Earth. I had everything I needed right here. I was going to make the best of it, or die trying. –Kairi_

* * *

“Sacrifice!”

I screamed. Rage, horror, pain. I’m not sure what was at the top of the list. Reighn just looked horrified. Seth was still unconscious, despite no longer bleeding.

I didn’t bother to look at the ligers. My eyes were locked on Dark, who seemed to be falling in slow motion. Then the trance-like state shattered.

My body moved, feet landing one after another as I charged, not toward Dark, but the Sword Dancer. This was a battle. Not everyone survives battle... And I had started this one. This was my fault, entirely. I was going to end this once and for all.

I felt the fonons coming up through the sephiroth we were so close to simply _reacting_ to me. Miasma-contaminated seventh fonons. I knew this was going to hurt, whatever I was about to do, but I didn’t care anymore. I was going to finish this, before anyone else got hurt.

I threw my weight into the familiar spin and plant of Guardian Field, but it was all wrong. The circle wasn’t blue like it usually was for both the base arte and Guardian Frost. No. It was a deep, dark maroon color, the color of the mud in the Qliphoth. And I could _feel_ the miasma saturating the air around me, even as the dark, twisted version of Guardian Field erupted around me. I didn’t even speak consciously. It was all my subconscious.

“Dark reckoning! Guardian’s Pain!”

The Sword Dancer screeched once again, and this time hit the ground with dark wisps fading off of its body. It chuckled, a dark sound that did nothing to calm my racing heart.

_:I see. That is how strong your ties are. Then, take these.:_

It faded away, three weapons remaining behind. One was a rather familiar bow from the game, Natalia’s Celestial Star that you get from the coliseum in Baticul. Another was also familiar, though I remembered that it was usually found in Mt. Zaleho. Still... I didn’t think Luke would mind it much. I couldn’t imagine Asch wielding Flamberge, at least.

The other weapon was also familiar... in that I could identify _what_ they were. Chakrams. Still, at that point, I had other things to worry about.

“Dark!”

Reighn was already knelt over him and searching for a pulse, Seth left where he’d been placed earlier in the wake of Dark’s stupidity.

“What happened? What did he do?!” Natalia asked, running up as the barrier fell. Reighn scowled.

“He used a forbidden arte, one that even I’ve never risked trying, and that should say something, since my family practically _breathes_ forbidden artes,” he said. He swallowed, finally pulling his hand away from Dark’s neck. “He’ll live. But I’m having a long talk with him as soon as he wakes up, regardless of the migraine I’m sure he’s going to have.

Natalia knelt next to him. “What arte?” she asked. Reighn looked like he’d put something sour in his mouth, while Luke wandered over to the weapons the Sword Dancer had left behind. I noted that he looked at me and made a motion toward Flamberge. I just nodded, still shaken from what Dark had done.

“An arte called Sacrifice. Fitting name, given that the user is giving up every ounce of their magic and strength to heal their comrades,” Reighn said.

I crossed my arms and glanced back at Seth, my heart finally starting to calm. “That arte didn’t just heal us, it practically brought Seth back from the dead. Anything that powerful has to have a hefty cost to go with it. Law of Equivalent Exchange, after all. In order to gain anything, something of equal value must be lost.”

Natalia looked up at me, and I wasn’t sure if she wanted to yell at me for being so callous or if she just wanted to cry.

“Dark will live,” Reighn repeated. “He’s held out this long with Danté trying to kill him at every turn, and he’s not dead even a full two minutes after successfully casting the arte, which means he’s out of the danger zone. For now, we should just head back to camp.”

Natalia nodded mutely, and I finally picked up the bow and handed it to her. She paused and blinked at it.

“You didn’t want it?” she asked. I shrugged, showing her Silver Clematis.

“I’ve already got a weapon from the Sword Dancer. We should spread them out among the group. Luke’s already taken Flamberge,” I said. “We just need to figure out who gets to learn how to throw chakrams.”

Reighn glanced over his shoulder, noting the rings I was bending to pick up. “Are those coated in poison like Silver Clematis and the Black Rose daggers?” he asked. I ran Energies over the blades, then nodded. “Give them to Dark. I know you’re trying to help, Ion, but I’d rather you not be poisoning yourself with those.”

Luke walked over then, Seth on his back and Flamberge nowhere to be seen. Probably stored away in his wing pack for now. Reighn glanced up at him, nodded, and lifted Dark.

Natalia and Ion hung back near the two, while Twilight, Sorylle and I held up something of a perimeter. Not that any monsters attacked. They tended to avoid us for a few hours after defeating Sword Dancers, which was both nice and bothersome as well.

Right then, I really could have used a moment to wind down by slaughtering a few monsters.

We made it back to camp without a problem, though Noir, York, and Urushi all gave us some worried looks when they saw that two of us were unconscious. No one said a word, Reighn just putting Dark down near the fire while Natalia helped Luke to get Seth off of his back. Luke then started right in on dinner, since it was starting to get dark.

I sat down next to Twilight and pulled out the chakrams we’d gotten, finally taking the time to look over them properly.

Pristine white rings had four rounded-edged extensions each corresponding with the cardinal directions, with a spike between each ‘petal.’ And petals I’m sure they were meant to be, since there were two sets of colored vines wrapped around the rings, one vine in green, the other in blue. Leaves came off of both in darker shades. The ‘petals’ were also tipped in dark blue, while the ‘thorns’ between them were tipped in dark green. Bars between the ‘thorns’ crossed in the centers.

Lines of Ancient Ispanian were inscribed on the inside edges of the rings, and I looked over at Seth, who was still unconscious, frowned, then waved Ion over, figuring that he’d probably know the language. I handed a chakram over for him to translate, and wasn’t too surprised by the answer.

“White Lotus...” Ion said, sounding disappointed, or maybe upset that he couldn’t help me much. I smiled.

“Thanks.”

Ion smiled and walked back over to Reighn, crouching and continuing the discussion they’d been having about the Order.

I let all of the background noise fade out and looked up at the sky.

The stars were all wrong, but they were there. That was comforting enough for now.

To be honest, I wanted Asch there. Asch and Sync both.

It was just like I’d killed for the first time again. That’s what it felt like. Like I’d killed a man for the first time. Except this time, the person was someone close to me, someone I didn’t want to lose. And to make it worse, it had happened twice. First Seth, then Dark.

And it was _my_ fault. _I_ was the one that wanted to fight the Sword Dancer again. _I_ was the one that hadn’t thought it would kill us if it had a chance. And the worst part was, _I_ was the one who had let it get to Seth. If it hadn’t hit Seth, Dark wouldn’t have had to use Sacrifice. I’d seen him. I’d seen the way he was looking at Seth, bleeding out even as Reighn worked frantically to save him. I’d seen it... And if I hadn’t hesitated to run back into the fight after being thrown into the barrier, Seth wouldn’t have had to keep that thing away from Dark all by himself.

Red fell into my vision, and I let my eyes focus a little so I could make out Luke standing over me. His green eyes were filled with worry, and the little cheagle on his shoulder seemed just as upset. I sighed.

“I’m alright.”

Luke closed his eyes and let his head drop, bangs now obscuring his face. “And how often does Asch believe that?” he asked, scathing tone telling me my lie hadn’t been accepted in the least. I sighed, shaking my head.

“He knows not to push me when I’m like this,” I said, warning Luke that he was getting in a bit too deep. The redhead didn’t speak for a few minutes, and just as I was starting to think he’d leave me alone, he took a couple of steps forward and sat down next to me. I sighed.

“Dark volunteered for that, remember.”

I pulled my knee up and propped an elbow on it. “Easy to say when you’re not the one in charge,” I said.

“And the fact that you’re still beating yourself up over it tells me that you’re the kind of leader I’d rather have on my side,” Reighn said, walking over as well, two bowls of curry in his hands. He held them out for me and Luke. I looked at it for a moment before forcing myself to take it. Reighn came back a moment later with Ion and his own bowl.

The two of them sat across from me and Luke, while Natalia stayed by Dark and Seth. The Dark Wings kept to themselves for the night.

We ate in silence for a while, before Reighn put his spoon down, stared at his food, and then looked up at me. His eyes shifted to Luke, then back to me. “Once this is over, would you two consider coming with us to Daath? Van’s defection has effectively destroyed the upper levels of the Oracle Knights. We’re going to need help putting the entire Order together, starting with its military.”

I stared at Reighn. Given my previous track record with Daath, I didn’t think he would even consider asking that. Still, from the expression he wore, it was a serious question. Which sent me hurtling back into my thoughts.

Me? A soldier? Or rather, as it sounded like he was suggesting, an officer?

But hadn’t I been thinking like one earlier that day? Hadn’t I been thinking like one in the valley, when the southern ligers were blocking the way out?

I took a deep breath, realizing just how much I’d changed since being dropped on Auldrant. And in realizing that there would never truly be any ‘going back,’ I knew I had sealed my fate.

“I’ll do it.”

“Kairi?” Ion looked at me, wide eyes and innocent expression. Reighn looked bothered.

“You don’t have to make up your mind tonight,” he started.

“I haven’t got anything else waiting for me,” I said, cutting him off. “I can’t go back to what I had before, so I have to move forward. And I’ve no reason not to.”

Reighn didn’t say anything, just kept looking at me with those silver eyes that seemed to cut straight to my soul. I ignored it, eating the rest of my curry (not nearly as spicy as Sync makes it, thank goodness) and collecting Natalia’s bowl. Ion was the next one finished, then the three members of the Dark Wings, then Luke, and finally Reighn. Luke hadn’t said a word since Reighn made his offer, but Ion moved to sit where I’d been and started talking to him.

Reighn followed me to the river nearby, helping as I cleaned our dishes.

“Head of the Fon Master Guards. Head of the Intelligence Division. Commander of Special Operations. Chief of Staff. Commandant. Adjutant Commandant.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you muttering?”

Reighn looked at me and smiled wryly. “Ever wonder where the term ‘Six God-Generals’ comes from? Believe it or not, the Order of Lorelei has actually expanded a lot since Van became Commandant. The Six God-Generals used to be the heads of the six divisions, and each one also had a second title and a platoon of soldiers that were separate from their division,” he said. “First Division Commander was also the Commandant. Second Division, Adjutant Commandant.”

“What Legretta is,” I said. Reighn nodded. “Third?”

“Head of the Intelligence Division. Actually, that one’s mostly Mohs’ fault, with just a little tweaking from Van. The Third Division _was_ the Intelligence Division, twenty years ago. Now it’s separate. Anyway, Fourth Division Commander was also the Head of the Fon Master Guardians. The Guardians themselves were just the Head and that separate platoon I mentioned earlier,” he continued. “Fifth Division Commander was the Chief of Staff... Sync told me he’d been stuck dealing with that, so at least there won’t be too much upheaval there. The detached platoon in the Sixth Division was Special Operations.”

I nodded to myself. “I see. You’re trying to rebuild the Order the way it was before Mohs and Van started rearranging things.”

Reighn nodded. “Yeah. Sync and Asch have already agreed to come back. I figure Cantabile will be there. Cantabile’s got the most experience, I’ll probably move her to the First Division. Asch can take back Special Operations. Sync can deal with the Fifth Division again. I’ve already got the Fourth.” He paused here and looked at me, and I frowned.

The Second Division, led by the Adjutant Commandant, or the Third, led by the Head of the Intelligence Division?

“I’m planning on putting you in the Third Division. If Luke agrees to join, I’ll bump Asch up to Second. Behind me and Cantabile, he’s got the next most experience,” Reighn said finally. I nodded. Intelligence Division it was then.

Reighn smiled as we stood, though I could tell it was a bit forced. “Kairi.”

I looked up at him, tired, gold-flecked green eyes meeting silver.

“Thank you.”

Reighn took the rest of the dishes from me and walked off, leaving me there by the river to contemplate everything. Not that I really needed to.

Yes, I was in a Doppelganger body. Yes, I could go back to my real body whenever I wanted. But after everything I’d seen, everything I’d survived... Could I really just go back to living my life as if it never happened?

I knew the answer to that all too well. Let my Doppelganger continue to live out her life on Earth. I had everything I needed right here. I was going to make the best of it, or die trying.

“Urg...”

And speaking of dying.

“Dark!”

I started walking just a bit faster.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _When I first started writing a Ripple in the Abyss, I had no intention of using any artes outside of those present in Tales of the Abyss, or made-up ones. That said, Sacrifice, all of Selenia’s arte set (including her currently single strike arte), Crackle, and a few others have been imported. Most from other Tales games, but Crackle and Comet Strike (Selenia’s strike arte) are from Grandia III._


	66. Chapter 7.3 - The Arte of Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Nor did this one.

_“What constitutes ‘helpful’?” –Rialle_

* * *

**Sync’s POV**

“May the blessings of Lorelei echo in all of us,” I finished.

There were a lot of things I didn’t like about playing Fon Master. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of things I _did_ like about it.

One, I was a higher rank than Mohs for once. So he couldn’t stop me from doing a single gods-damned thing. Well, as long as I kept at least one Fon Master Guard with me. He’d gotten a bit cocky the one time I hadn’t and had almost caught me.

Two, I had access to literally everything in Daath. Even the four percent of things in Daath I hadn’t had access to as a God-General. Mind you, aside from another, really, really well hidden library, none of it was really important.

Three, I could give Cantabile bullshit excuses as to why she could stay with me all day and so long as she didn’t argue, Mohs couldn’t send her somewhere else.

Four, if I wanted to ditch the Fon Master Guard I kept with me as a defense against Mohs so I could to a bit of sneaking around, it was as easy as saying ‘good night.’

See? One hand.

“Fon Master, is something wrong?”

I turned to the girl who’d been my shadow for most of the morning already and smiled. Well, I guess I can add a fifth thing to that list. I got to practice my ‘innocent little kid’ routine freely without worrying about Asch or Kairi calling me out on it.

“It’s nothing, Rialle. I’m just a little tired,” I said. Well, that was the truth. I was definitely tired... Tired of having to lead the sermons every gods-damned Remday. It had been a month since I’d gotten back to Daath, and while I was sure my Ion routine was now perfect... Well... There was a reason why I didn’t _want_ to be the Fon Master.

Rialle smiled back before brushing a lock of brown hair behind an ear, though it just fell back into place a moment later. I couldn’t help it, I thought it was cute. Still, her green eyes kept throwing me off, especially since she wasn’t wearing glasses...

I sighed, and it sounded as if I was amused rather than irritated with myself. The minute the mess with Van was cleaned up, I was asking Selenia on a date. Not that that thought lasted long. I had the feeling that when it came down to it, I’d probably be just as bad as Jade and Dark.

I started heading for Ion’s room (I refused to think of it as mine, even if I’d been sleeping there for a month), knowing that I had a nice stack of paperwork waiting for me before I could head for one of the libraries. Better to just get the torture over with.

Rialle didn’t say a word as I stepped onto the fonic glyph that would take me up to Ion’s room. She just stood there, bound by duty to watch as I headed up. Of course, after a month of this, she didn’t bother with following me. She’d come to Ion’s office in about an hour, which was roughly how long it usually took me to do paperwork. The time until then was hers. There was no way I was going to force her to stand around and watch as I read and signed papers.

Light blinded me for a moment before it (and that disturbing shifting feeling you get from teleporting) disappeared. I didn’t waste time, walking up the steps and through the door.

I paused just inside the door, only to break into a grin. “Hi, Mom.”

A single golden eye landed on me, and I noted with some amusement that she wasn’t wearing her tabard. Just the sleeves, pants, and tunic for once. I stepped up to her, reaching out for the usual hug after propping Ion’s staff against the wall.

“Asch sent word by messenger pigeon. Kairi’s on her way here, and he’s following,” she said, wrapping her arms around me for just a moment before letting go. “Which means Ion’s on the way as well.”

I nodded, moving around the desk and sitting down, leveling a glare at the paperwork scattered across it. “Great. I want out of this getup.”

Mom sighed and shook her head. “So do I. It was one thing seeing you in your God-General uniform. But that thing?” She snorted, apparently deciding that finishing that sentence wasn’t a good idea. I pulled out a folder and reluctantly got to work. “Kairi’s also dragging Luke along,” Mom added.

I paused, brain screeching to a halt for a moment as supply reports and Luke clashed. I blinked, finished reading the report, signed it off in Ion’s pretty flourish (that had been the hardest part to get right), and _then_ looked up at her.

“Bound or willing?” I asked.

“Willing. Asch said Luke opened a channel via their fonslots and Kairi piggybacked on that to communicate,” she said, staring off into space. Well, all I could see was her hair and a bit of the eyepatch. “Sounds like it would have been pretty hard to force Luke to do that.”

I frowned, looking down at the reports and realizing that I wasn’t going to get them all done without my brain bothering me about that the whole time. I groaned and set my pen down (mine, not Ion’s, since I’d asked Mom to get it out of my old room for me), leaning over and finding a blank piece of lined paper in one of the drawers in Ion’s desk.

Once that was there, I started scribbling lines of runes across it. I knew Mom couldn’t read it, but then, neither could anyone else, save for Asch and Kairi. Well, maybe someone else knew, but Kairi hadn’t told me about it.

It took me about ten minutes to work everything out in my brain, and I sighed. “Any idea when they’re supposed to arrive?” I asked. I was worried. Mom wasn’t the only God-General in town. Dist and Aerith were both here too, and that’s not even getting started on Mohs.

Mom was silent for a few minutes. “Sometime in the next seventy-two hours. They shouldn’t be here yet, we’d be hearing the screams already if that was the case...”

I reached over the desk and flicked her with the end of my pen. I don’t care if she adopted me, she deserved it. Then again, maybe I’m being a hypocrite. “The screaming doesn’t start until she tries to leave.”

“Mm...”

I rolled my eyes and scribbled a couple more things down before sighing. “Damn...”

“Sync...” I gave her a pointed look, and she sighed. “I know.”

I ran a hand through my hair, groaning as I displaced that damn headdress. Fixing it (and the rest of my hair), I put the piece of paper away and went back to supply reports. “Then we have to intercept Luke and Natalia before Mohs catches them. He’s looking for any excuse to restart the war. Even with most of Rugnica in the Qliphoth, he’s stubborn.”

“Score, Score, Score. And he wonders why Van and the others have run off,” Mom muttered. I felt something catch in my throat at that, and I paused, pen hovering over the paper.

“Mom?”

She turned to me, that look making me feel like the little kid I really was.

“If Van’s plan wasn’t so drastic... would you still be sitting here?”

That gold eye watched me for a moment before it turned away. “I don’t know.”

I let my head drop and went back to the paperwork, signing where necessary and checking all of the boxes I needed to in the supply requests and such. There were a few things that made me wonder if Ion even _knew_ what was being addressed, since those were for the military branch, but having grown up with nothing but the nuances of that part of the Oracle Knights being pounded into my head, I had no problems accepting or vetoing the requests.

“I’d like to think I’d still be here, though.”

I stopped again, blinking and looking up at Mom. A small, hesitant smile formed on my lips for just a moment before I went back to the paperwork.

It was just ten minutes before Rialle was due to return that Mom stood and made to leave. She stopped before opening the door, though, and turned to give me a smile that I’d learned long ago either heralded something really, really good, or really, really bad.

“You know, if we can keep Kairi out of trouble for a few days... we might all be able to celebrate your birthday here in Daath.”

She left before I could formulate any sort of a response to that. The reason?

I’d completely forgotten that my birthday was on Ifritday!

That made me pause. Mom had remembered, yes, but... What about Kairi and Asch? Did they remember it was coming up?

Had I ever even told them?

Now certain that my mind would be permanently plagued by those kinds of thoughts, I glanced at the final folder of paperwork, and decided that I wasn’t going to bother with it. I’d leave it there and deal with it before I went to bed.

I stood, walking around the desk and picking up the staff before heading out of the office. If I missed Rialle, then so be it. I wasn’t going to sit there any longer than necessary.

I landed on the fonic glyph on the ground floor, and tilted my head to the side when I spotted the Fon Master Guard in question sitting against the wall, writing something. I walked over, peeking over the top edge curiously. Then my eyes widened.

“You know Reighn?!”

Rialle squeaked, jumping about a foot in the air before realizing it was me. She giggled, pushing her hair behind her ear for a moment before nodding. “Yeah... Sync.”

I let my eyes widen a little further, and Rialle smirked. “Reighn doesn’t know I joined the Fon Master Guardians. But you know, you should try to be a bit less confrontational with Mohs. I know you don’t like him, but if it had been any of the others, they’d have called you out on it on day three.”

I’ll admit it. I was embarrassed. Not only was this girl one of Reighn’s contacts, it seemed she was as perceptive as he was. Figures.

I sighed. “Well then, I guess there’s no more need for me to ditch you for hours on end. Besides, another set of eyes might just help,” I admitted. She looked up at me, green eyes curious, and I shook my head, turning and waving for her to follow me. This wasn’t something that I could talk about out in the open.

Rialle walked along behind me as I led the way through the labyrinth that was Daath’s cathedral. I knew the moment we’d stepped out of familiar territory for her, because she was suddenly _following_ me rather than walking _with_ me. But I’d been down these halls so many times over the past few weeks that I didn’t even hesitate. I knew where I was going, and if I was totally honest with myself, I was a lot more comfortable with Rialle behind me.

I stopped in front of the right door and opened it, stepping in and flipping the lights on. Rialle walked in behind me and made a face.

“Eek. Dusty.”

I chuckled. “Yep. And I have to find something helpful in all of this.”

The girl crossed her arms, looked up at me (yes, up, since I’m about three inches taller than her), and tilted her head to the side. “What constitutes ‘helpful’?”

I smirked. “Anything related to the world’s core vibrating and/or the liquefaction of the surface.”

She nodded once and headed off in one direction, and I went the other way, brushing dust off of the spines of books I couldn’t read the titles of. Nothing looked like it would help. Most of it was about religions that existed before the Order of Lorelei, and some very, very old texts (that were written in a completely different language, to boot) that seemed to detail some other kind of magic source.

I huffed and put another book back, skimming through the next shelf and finding nothing of relevance.

That was when Rialle came around to my side of the library, old, _large_ book open in her arms as she muttered to herself. She flipped a few pages, muttered a bit more, and then looked up, realizing that she was about four steps from plowing into me. Her face flushed pink before she turned the book around and held it out for me.

“This the kind of thing you’re looking for?” she asked. I looked over the passage she was pointing at, and found out almost immediately why this had been placed here.

_...and in conjunction with the newly-built passage rings, the Sephiroth have had little difficulty in producing the Planet Storm and in extension the mass number of fonons necessary for the fonic technology currently being developed. Of course, this has brought about a rather unforeseen consequence, as the land has begun to liquefy due to vibrations that seem to stem from the very core of Auldrant..._

I would have grinned, if it weren’t for the fact that I’d only known about it because Kairi had told me about certain events in Tales of the Abyss.

_“It’s not pretty. Most of the God-Generals ‘die’ twice. Your first ‘death’ was in the core, when the party went down there to stop the vibrating. The second time... Well, with the exception of Van, you lasted the longest. Even longer than Asch.”_

I continued to scan the pages, and nodded to myself as I went. This was definitely the text they needed. Right down to the theoretical fon machine outlined five pages after the first passage Rialle had pointed out to me.

I closed the book, having every intention of slipping it under my tabard, but paused. If Rialle was right, then Mohs probably suspected me enough already. So.

Rialle looked shocked when I held the book out again. “Would you make sure this gets to Cantabile for me? I’m going to the public library to do a bit more poking around with something interesting I found the other day,” I said.

The brunette took the book, nodded once, and slipped it under her own tabard. Then she smiled, turning and heading for the door.

If all else failed, at least Cantabile would know what to do with that. I’d told her what I was up to, after all. And even if I hadn’t, she was my mom. She’d have gotten her answers eventually.

Before I left that library, however, I dropped my mental shields and grinned.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Mozilla firefox thought ‘bastard’ was an appropriate correction for the apparently-misspelled word ‘tabard.’ Imagine reading some of these sentences with that ‘correction.’ XD_

 


	67. Chapter 7.4 - The Arte of Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and again...

_*Well, that conversation went sideways fast.* –Seth_

* * *

 

I raised my arms and stuck them behind my head in a rather Sora-esque pose. “Well. It’s nice and crowded,” came my sarcastic comment.

Reighn rolled his eyes. “Yes, and we’ve now managed to lose Ion, Natalia, Luke, Dark, and Sorylle. This is why I asked if you wanted to come in today or tomorrow morning,” he said. Seth stuck close to us, not daring to wander off and get lost like the other group probably was. Well, having Twilight close helped.

Crowded streets or not, it was easier to get some breathing room if we had a liger. Good thing Sorylle was with the others. They were probably appreciating it as much as I was.

I felt someone snag onto my field and wondered idly if Dark and the others had finally realized we’d been separated. To that end, I had a nice line of sarcastic comments all lined up and ready.

*Miss me?*

Instead, a huge grin managed to plaster itself across my face.

*Sync!*

The two of us laughed, and Reighn, Seth, and Twilight all gave me odd looks before joining in. *Hey, where’s Ion?* Sync asked.

*He’s with Luke, Dark, Natalia, and Sorylle.*

*Damn.*

*Sync?* Reighn asked. The teen on the other end sighed.

*Mohs is looking for an excuse to restart the war. If he finds out Natalia and Luke are here...* Sync trailed off. I frowned.

*Who all’s in Daath?*

*Me, Mohs, Cantabile, Dist, and Aerith. Legretta’s in Belkend, Van is headed that way, Arietta’s headed for the Northern Forest, and Flick is in Baticul. Largo should be getting back here any day now,* Sync said. I crossed my arms.

*You and Cantabile aren’t a problem... Aerith, Dist, and Mohs could cause a lot of trouble for us, though. And Asch’s group is right behind us, Asch is just on the edge of my perception.*

It was quiet for a while as the four of us wandered through the streets, Reighn leading the way through back alleys so as to avoid the busy Remday crowds in the main streets.

*I hate Remdays in Daath,* Reighn muttered, glancing around a corner and turning the other direction. Sync groaned.

*Don’t get me started. You have no idea how much I _hate_ sermons right now. I mean, I never liked attending them to begin with. Having to _lead_ them?* He growled in frustration, and Twilight’s presence translated it into something along the lines of ‘chirpee-fucking mandragora.’ Which of course, got everyone’s attention.

*Is that normal?* Seth asked. I chuckled.

*Yeah. That’s actually pretty mild compared to some of what I’ve come up with before,* I admitted. *Still, it’s amusing to listen to. Gives a good idea of what ligers think of other monsters.*

*The plant monsters are the worst, though,* Twilight added. *With the entire mandrake family taking first place.*

*What about filifolia?* Reighn asked. The liger shook his head.

*Those and their ilk barely bother us. They’re weak, and not even worth our time. Mandrakes are simply irritating.*

*Well, that conversation went sideways fast,* Seth muttered.

The rest of us laughed.

“Oh, by all means, laugh while you can.”

The four of us, as well as Sync on the other end of the connection, froze and fell silent. Reighn was the first one to move, turning to look down an alley that led to a small open square. Standing in the middle of that area was an all-too familiar face.

“Aerith.”

“Reighn.”

*The others are sticking to the main road. Find them before Mohs does!* I ordered Sync before snapping the connection. Reighn and Seth glanced back at me, noting that I’d already drawn my katana, since I’d finally tied its sheath back on my belt. Enemy or not, snooty bitch or not, Aerith was still Reighn’s sister.

“What do you want, Aerith?” Seth asked, just as prepared to call up his weapon. Reighn’s hand was fiddling with his scythe’s handle.

“I don’t know why Zion wants you so badly, but I don’t care right now,” she said, looking straight at me. “I’m under orders to eliminate the traitors.” Her gaze shifted to Seth, who suddenly seemed to age by at least five years. He sighed.

“So, he caught us.”

Aerith snorted. “Did you think he wouldn’t?” She pulled her staff from her back, touching the crystal in the center of the ‘water drop’. It glowed blue for a long moment before a blue-green fonic blade extended from it. Rather than the scythe that Reighn’s was, however, Aerith’s staff turned into a glaive. So, she had some close-combat training as well. Well, relatively close.

She moved to run at us, but I beat her to it, rushing between Reighn and Seth and stopping her from starting a battle in a very, very small space. While small spaces were nice for ambushes where the ambushing party was smaller than the ambushed party, it wasn’t so great for the larger group.

Which was why I ducked under Aerith’s glaive and sent her flying back into the square with a Raging Blast. Seth was right behind me, swallow-blade spinning like a pinwheel as he moved to block off one of the other two exits.

Twilight looked up at me and growled, a set of one short growl and a long growl, then two long growls followed by three short growls. They wouldn’t have translated to anything in the liger language, but they meant something to the three of us on his side. They meant ‘go cast, I’ll keep her away from you.’ After all, he didn’t have the fingers and thumbs necessary for the hand signals the rest of us used.

I blocked the second alternate exit, while Reighn stayed near the alley we’d come in through.

Seth was already casting, sparrow-blade held aloft as he twirled it, gathering fonons. I stopped as well, pulling in Energies to start corralling the fonons I’d need for my arte. Reighn hesitated, but followed suit after the two of us.

Aerith muttered, slashed the blade of her glaive across Twilight’s face and managed to slip past him, heading straight for her brother. Seth unleashed the Dragon’s Flower he’d been readying, but she managed to dance around it, barely even being touched by it.

Reighn lifted his head, and just in time to swing his scythe up into position, the blade forming even as he did so.

“I’m sorry Aerith. I don’t want to fight you, but you’re leaving me with no choice,” he said quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. Aerith scoffed.

“Sure. Because ‘sorry’ always fixes everything,” she muttered, pushing back against him and then jumping to the side as Twilight tried to jump her. He and Reighn barely avoided falling over, while Aerith turned to run at Seth, her target.

“It’s certainly a start,” I said, ready to unleash my own arte now. “Stone Gate!”

Aerith didn’t move fast enough to avoid this one completely, but it certainly didn’t stop her from continuing to go after Seth. Reighn ran in after her, apparently deciding that since it was his sister we were fighting, he was the one who would have to be responsible for her. Twilight’s growls of protest were completely ignored, and I sighed as he padded over to me. With the way Reighn and Aerith were fighting, there was no way Twilight would be able to get in and do any damage. He’d have more luck with throwing his Thunder Lances at her every few minutes.

“If he wants to do it, I’m not going to stop him. The least I can do at this point is be ready to support him,” I said softly, putting a hand in his mane even as I was letting off an Infernal Prison. Reighn jumped back, letting Aerith disappear in a cage of blue fire. Hmm... Blue hair and black and gray clothes, and blue fire on gray stone? Maybe I should use the regular arte.

Aerith jumped back out of the fire, spinning around to give extra momentum to her strike. Reighn’s blade intercepted hers, dark royal blue clashing with dark blue-green, before the two split apart again.

Aerith slipped around Reighn’s next swing, her glaive held at such an angle that I was sure she wasn’t planning to hit him with it. And I was right. Her left hand came out, bundle of fonons already gathered. “Shatter! Frigid Blast!”

Reighn grunted, being tossed away along with a number of sharp ice shards. I flinched, then attempted to drop Cluster Raid on Aerith. She dodged it, as usual, running to the empty part of the square and gathering up fonons at an almost alarming speed. I didn’t bother casting again, running at her with every intention of interrupting her. Twilight was right behind me, while Seth was preparing a healing arte for Reighn.

“Slumber in merciful ice! Frigid Coffin!”

The arte hit Reighn just before Seth’s Healing Circle lit up under him. And it was probably a good thing it did, because Reighn didn’t sound too happy about it.

Twilight and I reached Aerith just before she could get her glaive between her and us, which meant we just needed to keep an eye out for her Frigid Blast and whatever else she’s got.

“Demon Fist!”

Like that thing, that did a wonderful job of tripping me up.

Twilight grabbed me by the cape and drug me out of the way of her glaive, successfully making me gag in the process. An apologetic growl and an exasperated glance thrown toward Seth later, and I was back on my feet.

Aerith ran past us to strike at Reighn again. “You know, Matthias was onto something before he died.”

Reighn missed a step, barely avoiding losing an arm by virtue of jumping back at the last moment. His scythe came around in a smooth arc. “What are you talking about?”

Aerith’s laugh was nothing short of demented, even as she unleashed her over-limit to knock me and Twilight away. I scowled, barely pulling off a mid-air flip and landing in a crouch.

“You know what I’m talking about. That scroll that Mom wouldn’t let even you, the prodigal son of the Aurelius line, look at. The one that I always made fun of for being covered in so much dust...”

Reighn’s expression was caught somewhere between horror and wonder.

Aerith chose then to unleash her Mystic Arte, and as the background faded out to a nebula, I braced myself. If we were all still solid, that meant...

“Feel the first beats of time! Fall!” I flinched. Yup. It was a mass-target arte. Actually, wasn’t it one of Arietta’s? “Big Bang!”

Pressure collapsed in on me from every side, and I grunted, hitting the ground even as it returned. Reighn was the only one still standing,  and even then, just barely. He started gathering fonons, while Twilight got up and moved to start harassing Aerith for a bit. Once I was sure nothing was broken and Seth was okay, I got up too.

I noted that Reighn looked conflicted, but brushed it off as him being forced to attack Aerith seriously. I slashed at her and then ducked under her glaive. Seth dropped another Dragon’s Flower on her, but it didn’t do much. I scowled, starting to wonder just how difficult one girl could be.

I ran in again, making use of the field of fonons to pull a Burning Havoc on her. Then I just started slashing at her. I was close enough that her long weapon couldn’t hit me to do much damage. Three slashes, a Raging Blast, and a Guardian Field later, Aerith got up and decided to let me in on the fact that Draconic Soul wasn’t a scythe-exclusive strike arte. I huffed at the gash across my stomach, even though the next Guardian Field healed it right up. I was starting to get very, very irritated with Reighn’s little sister.

That was about when Reighn decided he was going to unleash something new. A larger-than-normal fonic glyph surrounded him, glowing in a soft, icy but brilliant blue as opposed to Reighn’s usual dulled silver-blue. “Maiden of ice who sleeps in the silent forest...”

Aerith’s jaw dropped, arms going slack. “Impossible!”

Reighn didn’t pause once. “Grace my enemies with your pure smile and offer them thy bosom!” Silver eyes snapped open, seeming to glow with the same icy blue of the fonic glyph around his feet. “Final Embrace!”

Ice shot up around Aerith, locking her in something of a cage even as a frigid gale let loose. A large chunk of ice formed above the cage, and once the winds faltered, it fell, shattering over the girl within.

Aerith grunted, hitting the ground and not getting up as the arte faded.

A dull thump told me that Reighn wasn’t in great shape either. I turned to see him on his knees, breathing hard, eyes still locked on Aerith.

“She’ll live. I didn’t let that hit her at full power. I’d have wiped myself out much like Dark did if I had... This is why forbidden artes are forbidden,” he said. He took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet, forcing his way over to his sister’s side. Judging from the struggle that had been, he wouldn’t be moving about freely for a while. “They’re powerful, yes. But the magick costs are deadly if the caster isn’t careful...”

I crossed my arms. “I’d like to learn one, one day. If for no other reason than to see if using Energies won’t bypass that excessive magick drain,” I said. Reighn looked up at me and shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’m planning on teaching Jade three of them, because once that fon slot seal’s gone, he’s got the magick reserves for it. Mine are shot because of Aerith locking them down tight for so long. Even a fully-powered Final Embrace shouldn’t have brought me to my knees like this,” he admitted.

Reighn looked down at Aerith, blue hair falling in his face for a moment as he looked thoughtful. “I’m going to stay here to recover. If Aerith found us, chances are pretty high that Dist or Mohs will find the others. I’m in no shape to be moving right now, and it’s not fair to make Twilight carry both of us. I’d rather not leave Aerith alone back here.”

Seth frowned. “If we leave you here, the three of us will get lost.”

I nodded. “I have no sense of direction in cities,” I added. Reighn rolled his eyes and pointed.

“Just follow that alley. It’ll run straight into the side of the cathedral. Head left from there and follow the wall around to the front. I’ll catch up as soon as I can,” he said. I nodded, sword sheathed once more and Twilight and Seth on my heels.

Little did I know it was the last time I would see Reighn myself for a long time.

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** _ _I had Flick in Baticul originally while Largo was due back, but then I realized that Flick is supposed to show up in the chapter after next. Whoops. Oh, we also get to meet another new character in that chapter! (Or maybe the chapter after that... Huh... Not totally sure... Oh well.) The new charrie is canon to Tales of the Abyss, by the way, so feel free to try to guess._


	68. Chapter 7.5 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_*Sitting in the library just inside the cathedral and wondering when that coffee pot was put there.* -Kairi_

_"Relax. No one comes back here. Habit from avoiding me when I'm pissed off. Though I'm kinda glad Kairi never got_ that _memo." -Asch_

_"I'd been trying to avoid that part of the memory." -Jade_

* * *

**Luke’s POV**

I don’t know how long it took me to notice it, and that fact worried me almost as much as it did when I realized it, but...

“Uh... Where are the others?”

Dark, Natalia, Ion, and Sorylle paused, all of them turning to look at me like I was crazy before Dark and Ion frowned, realizing just what I was talking about. Natalia sighed, shaking her head at us and looked embarrassed.

“Seth pulled away from us almost an hour ago, and took Reighn and Twilight with him. Kairi just kind of followed along. I think he was trying to make our group a bit less... conspicuous,” she said. Dark looked around, raised an eyebrow, and crossed his arms.

“They couldn’t take us with them? It’s fucking crowded out here,” he grumbled. Ion sighed, running his hands forward through his hair yet again to make sure it was still in Sync’s usual spiky style. He’d gotten rather lax about it over the past month, since everyone already knew it was him, but I’d pointed out that it would seem weird if he walked into Daath when there was already an Ion there.

“It’s Remday. What the hell did you expect?”

The five of us turned, another group walking up to us, Asch right in front.

I felt like someone had just poured a dozen buckets’ worth of ice water over me.

“Asch. Everyone’s settled in the Qliphoth for now?” I asked, months of dealing with Van and Zion pounding discipline into me being my saving grace for once.

He looked at me, and for just a moment, I wondered if that really was pity buried deep in those emerald eyes.

“Yeah. We should head up to the cathedral. I’m not looking forward to Sync’s bitching, but we’d better get it over with,” he said. Ion looked baffled.

“Bitching?” he echoed softly. Asch snorted.

“You realize being stuck in Daath under the guise of Fon Master means he’s had to lead the Remday sermons since arriving here, right? Sync never did like them before. I highly doubt his opinion of them has increased since being stuck on the other side of the podium.” The dull, unamused look Asch gave him spoke volumes of how serious my original was being.

My original...

“Luke? Something wrong?”

I felt my heart jump up into my throat, and I turned to Guy forcing a smile for the man who, it seemed, cared little for the guy he was _supposed_ to be serving. “It’s nothing. I’m just wondering who’s gonna give Asch a worse headache. Sync, for the reasons he’s already stated, or Kairi, because he gave her one hell of a migraine when he cut me off the other week.”

Okay, that was lame. Really, really lame. But judging from the expressions Asch, Dark, Natalia, and Guy wore, they’d bought it. Tear, Anise, and the other brunette with them were unreadable, while Jade and Ion gave me looks that said ‘I’m not buying that and you _will_ tell me the truth later.’

“We should get going. Kairi’s got a telepathic field down, I’m tempted to contact her and figure out where she is,” Dark said. Asch raised an eyebrow, and now that I’d been made aware of it, I could feel it too.

I mentally poked it, and sure enough, a moment later, I could hear Asch’s voice in my mind, even though he wasn’t speaking out loud. If the faint presences I could feel were any indication, I wasn’t the only one who had decided to listen in.

*Where are you?*

*Sitting in the library just inside the cathedral and wondering when that coffee pot was put there,* Kairi replied.

*Don’t you dare drink more than one cup,* Asch grumbled.

*Relax. Between me and Mom, I don’t think we’ll have too much to worry about... Oh damn.* Sync cut off here, apparently realizing what I’d already noticed.

*MOM?!* Anise and Guy cried. I sighed.

*Well, that escalated quickly,* Jade said. *Wait, where’s Reighn? I can sense Seth with you three, but Reighn is...*

*We got jumped by Aerith. Reighn managed to subdue her, but he pulled the same kind of a stunt Dark did to do it and ended up staying behind to recuperate. Luke, Natalia, Ion, look out. If Mohs catches you three, you’re screwed, and that’s putting it nicely,* Kairi said.

*Wait, stunt? What did Reighn do? What did Dark do for that matter?* Jade asked.

Dark flinched, and Natalia crossed her arms.

I’ve been told many times that Asch, Father, and I have really scary glares.

Natalia actually glaring at someone is pretty damn scary too, though.

*The idiot about killed himself using a modified version of a forbidden arte.*

Ah. Okay. That made sense.

*Reighn at least put a limit on the one he used, but he was exhausted, and refused to leave Aerith where she’d fallen, so we ended up going on ahead,* Kairi said. *Now get your butts up here! Sync’s found some rather interesting information.*

*Coming.* Asch’s blunt, one-word comment was the last thing I heard before the connection seemed to break. A moment later, the field was back in place. I didn’t bother to ‘latch on’ again, though. Kairi would probably just get really irritated with me for it, anyway.

Asch started pushing his way through the crowds, a polite smile plastered on his face that got most of the irritated mutters to stop. I watched, silently fascinated. I guess he was used to this. It may have been almost a year since he left the God-Generals, but he was still making his way through the Remday crowd like he’d never left.

Anise and Ion seemed to be in a similar situation.

A shadow flashed through my peripheral vision, and I glanced up, just in time to catch a glimpse of something salmon-colored. A sinking feeling started in my chest, and I looked up toward the cathedral.

“Dist knows we’re here,” I said. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“I’m amazed you actually saw that,” he said. I scowled, remembering again why he’d always rubbed the wrong way. Then again... I paused a moment to actually run that sentence over again in my mind. I settled for giving Jade a rather confused look.

“Saw what?” Dark asked, sounding concerned.

Jade sighed and stuck his hands back in his pockets. “Dist was flying over head, paused, and then flew off again. Actually, I only saw the shadow, but that chair of his is distinct enough to identify even if I can’t actually see it.”

“It’s also a really ugly salmon color,” I added, scratching the bridge of my nose. “That’s what gave him away for me. None of the local monsters are that color, and I have yet to see any of Arietta’s with that shade of fur or feathers.”

I got the impression I was being stared at by everyone except Dark, Sorylle, Ion, and Natalia. Ion sighed.

“Get used to that. He does it a lot,” he said.

I scowled and crossed my arms, a little bit of my old personality coming back through with my next comment. “Well _excuse me_ if Zion got pissed ‘cause I was pretty much useless when they first pulled me out of Akzeriuth.” And then... “Urk!”

I clenched my jaw as a wave of fire started flying through my body again. Damn... And I had no clue how to get the miasma out of me, either. Zion wasn’t an option anymore...

“Luke?! Are you alright?”

Natalia’s worried voice brought me back to reality, and I went to say I was fine again... Only to catch Asch’s eyes. I remembered Kairi. Her lips shakily turning up into a smile as she claimed to be alright.

 _“And how often does Asch believe that?”_ I’d asked.

I took a deep breath, eyes moving from Asch to Natalia. “No, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now. We should get going before Dist comes back.”

Asch nodded, and once again, we were moving through the crowds courtesy of him somehow managing to not piss people off.

I found myself at the back of the group once we made it past the insane crowds. Asch had led us through a side alley into a courtyard, one that wasn’t exactly easily accessible. Actually...

“Hey, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this courtyard off-limits to people outside the Order of Lorelei?” Dark asked. Asch nodded from where he seemed to be frozen, staring at the tree in the center.

“Yeah...”

“Then we should probably leave before we’re caught,” Jade said.

“Relax. No one comes back here. Habit from avoiding me when I’m pissed off,” Asch said. A wry smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Though I’m kinda glad Kairi never got _that_ memo.”

Everything clicked into place in my head, and from the looks the others were giving Asch, they’d figured it out too.

“So this is where you met Kairi...” Natalia muttered. Asch took a deep breath.

“Yeah... Let’s go. I don’t dare take you through the hallways to the library from here, but the front door is pretty much just right around the corner,” he said, finally moving again.

Jade’s hand on my shoulder stopped me from following the other immediately, and I looked up at him. “Yeah?”

His expression was unreadable, but I’d have sworn I saw something in those crimson eyes of his. Once the others were far enough ahead to not overhear, we started walking.

“You’ve really changed. Five months ago you wouldn’t have brushed the pain off like that. You wouldn’t have seen Dist. And you certainly wouldn’t have been able to fool anyone with your excuse about Sync and Kairi giving Asch a headache.”

I sighed, fingers brushing against a still-pink scar that was quite visible on my abdomen, since my new coat barely covered more than the old coat had. “That’s not necessarily a good thing,” I said. Jade didn’t reply for a bit.

“No. And it pains me to have to see what war has turned you into. Asch isn’t happy about it either, but he has more pressing things to worry about at present.” I looked up at him, and he sighed. “I’d grumble about Kairi managing to turn on all of my older brother habits again, but if Nephry ever heard about it I’d be regretting it dearly.”

I smiled a bit. “Jade... Thanks.”

He tilted his head to the side, looking at me curiously for a moment before smiling back. “Come on. I think we’ve dallied long enough.”

We entered the cathedral, Jade leading the way to the library. I frowned, wondering when the others had vanished, before deciding I didn’t want to bother.

Sure enough, everyone else was standing around a table in there.

“They were right behind us, I swear!” I heard Asch saying. Kairi laughed, pointing to us, and Sync poked his head around my original to give us a nasty look that... looked really disturbing, given that he was dressed up as Ion currently.

“Have a nice vacation?” he asked. Jade shrugged.

“I could ask the same of you.”

Sync scowled. “This was not a vacation! Ion and I are switching back as soon as we’re done here,” he said.

Seth chuckled. “Whatever, princess.”

Sync shot Kairi a look, and she smacked Seth upside the head for him.

“Could we please get back to business?” a woman asked dryly. I noted the way Jade was suddenly ramrod straight, and frowned. She looked pretty familiar, but...

“Ah... Hello, Cantabile.”

Oh, that’s who she was. I hadn’t recognized her without the tabard.

“Hey, are the sephiroth supposed to be going out of control?” Anise asked. I blinked.

“Wait, if the sephiroth go out of control...” I started. Kairi sighed.

“It’s Van’s fault. Between the vibration in the core and him closing off valves, they’re putting a lot of excess stress on some very _old_ structures. I’ve sealed Mt. Roneal and Tataroo Valley, but Meggiora Highlands and the sephiroth here in Daath haven’t been checked since Akzeriuth, not by me or Asch, at least. Speaking of which...” She trailed off and looked at Asch, who crossed his arms.

“Shurrey Hill’s extra lock has been disabled, because Jade was stupid and didn’t listen to me when I told him not to pull his hand off the terminal, but I put something in place at the Zao Ruins,” he said. Jade shifted uncomfortably as Kairi’s gaze landed on him.

“Asch already taught me how to flush it out,” he said.

I blinked. Was he referring to...?

“You were able to? I’d have thought the seventh fonons... Oh.” Asch chuckled nervously, while Kairi sighed. “You people. Nothing but reacting at Shurrey Hill, I’m sure.”

“We wouldn’t have needed to if you weren’t so damn secretive,” Jade said. Asch sighed.

“We wouldn’t have needed to if you had done as I told you,” he countered.

“Guys, regardless of what happened at Shurrey Hill, we’ve still got a small crisis on our hands right now,” Guy said. “And Dist saw us on our way in. Who knows how long we have?”

Cantabile’s gold eye locked on him. “You didn’t mention that before.”

Sync groaned. “It’s Dist. Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

Kairi and Asch smiled. “Yes, because Dist hates you in every form he takes.”

This comment was followed up by the distinctive sound of someone’s palm hitting their face. A quick glance around found the culprit... Who had just about everyone staring at him.

Jade was muttering something about rappigs, and while most of us were looking at him he’d lost it, Asch, Kairi, and Sync seemed amused.

“And to think, I got my first frying pan out of that pile...” Kairi said. Jade groaned.

“I’d been trying to avoid that part of the memory.”

A few moments later, and Jade seemed to have recovered. “One other thing while we’re here,” he said. “Tear and Anise mentioned something about a Closed Score?”

Sync sighed. “Believe me, it’s no help. There’s no mention of replicas anywhere. Given how things have been, I’d think that Luke at least would be mentioned, but...” he trailed off. Ion glanced over at him.

“Full strength or not, I can’t imagine that was good for you,” he said. Sync shrugged and opened his mouth to speak, only for Kairi to shoot up out of the chair she’d been in.

“Move!” she ordered, grabbing Asch and Ion. “Two groups, Luke’s in the other.”

Then she was running off, Seth glancing just once at Jade before chasing after her. Selenia and Twilight ran out just after him, and I sighed.

“Great. Now we get to dodge Oracle Knights.” I started running, not surprised when the rest of them followed me. We made it into the lobby just in time to see Twilight’s tail disappear through the other door.

“They’re headed for the sephiroth,” Jade realized.

“And you’re all headed for execution.”

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _Jade_ really _did not want the Pile of Doom incident to come up again... He really didn't... It doesn't help that Sync's comment from that chapter has become a bit of a catch phrase, either..._


	69. Chapter 7.6 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_"Where's Mieu when you need him?" -Selenia_

* * *

 

I raced through up the stairs, barely even noticing who all had followed me. Ion and Asch were with me, that was all that really mattered. My mind was dancing around in the lobby still, but even though I knew there were dozens of people there, I couldn’t gather much more than that.

I hit the upper floor, grabbed the guard rail, and pretty much jumped over it so I could run out onto the bridge above the lobby. Asch was right on my heels, Ion and three others lagging behind a bit.

I came skidding to a halt on the bridge, coming just short of throwing myself over the railing as I looked down at the scene below, where my brother and the rest of our friends were surrounded.

Jade was preparing an arte, Luke and Guy had their swords drawn, Tear seemed ready to start singing, and Dark and Natalia both had weapons drawn and aimed, and Anise seemed ready to bolt. Sorylle growled at the Oracle Knights, and I cursed as I saw Dist walking—yes, you read that right—up to them.

“Don’t resist, Jade. Unless, of course, you’d rather I kill this woman,” Dist said, his chair floating along after him. Noelle was unconscious in it.

“Well, that doesn’t look good.”

I glanced up at Noir. “What gave you that idea?” I snapped, looking back down. Weapons had been confiscated, as had wing packs, and now only Sorylle and Dark looked ready to keep fighting.

*Don’t do it,* I ordered Dark, knowing what he was thinking from the stance he had taken. *Any weapon they don’t know you have is a weapon you can use to get out of this later.*

*Assuming we get a ‘later,’* Dark replied before forcing himself out of the defensive stance he’d taken.

“I want the Malkuth colonel and Daemione locked up here. The rest will come with me to Baticul,” Mohs said. I frowned and moved to the other side of the bridge, finally spotting the pompous bastard. Deciding I’d rather pay attention to my friends, I moved back to the other side of the bridge. “And someone get rid of that damn liger!”

The soldiers converged on them, Dark growling at Sorylle, who gave him a look similar to the one she’d given him right before he used Sacrifice. I frowned, but was forced to watch as he growled at her again. She reluctantly unleashed an Ice Stream, the shock of the ice attack clearing enough space for her to make a break for it. She ran across the lobby, to the door that lead to the room with the fonic glyphs.

“Twilight,” I started. He growled, already moving back to intercept her and the Oracle Knights that were bound to follow her.

Jade and Dark were chained up, and the soldiers started dragging them outside. Probably planning on going through the outside entrance to headquarters... well, it was a shorter distance to the dungeons.

Natalia and Luke were the next ones arrested, with Anise, Tear, and Guy being kept separate. Dist had a couple of Oracle Knights carry Noelle down to the dungeons with Dark and Jade, before he reclaimed his place in his chair.

I kept an eye out for the two soldiers who had taken everyone’s things, and even when they passed out of sight, kept track of them with my mind. With any luck, they’d... Nope. Damn...

That was when Dist looked up. The two of us just stared at each other for a moment before he tilted his head to the side, as if amused.

Then he turned around and floated off.

“What was that about?” Seth asked. I glanced back, noting that there was no way Dist could have been looking at him. He was standing just past the doorway, while I was in the middle of the bridge.

“Dunno,” I admitted. I crossed my arms and looked at Noir. Then I glanced back at Asch. Then back to Noir. “Asch is going with you. Get Jade, Dark, and Noelle out. Their equipment has been left in a room in Headquarters, not too far from the inside entrance.”

“And what are you going to do?” Asch asked, arms crossed. I smirked.

“Oh, me? I’m going to the sephiroth. The less Van can keep closed off, the less pressure on the passage rings, and the more time we have,” I said.

“What about Reighn?” Seth asked. “He’s still with Aerith.”

I looked over at Twilight, who had just returned with Sorylle. *Can you find them? You won’t be a lot of help in the volcano... No offense.*

*None taken,* he replied. *I’ll go.*

I nodded and started walking. “Seth, Ion, Sorylle, Selenia and I will go to the sephiroth. Asch and the Dark Wings will deal with Headquarters. Twilight’s heading out to get Reighn. Any arguments?”

“You walking off like that isn’t leaving much space for any,” Selenia noted light-heartedly. Asch chuckled.

“That’s pretty normal.”

I made it up to the next door and opened it, stepping through with four of the others behind me. I crossed my arms as I finally remembered something that had been bothering me for a while. “Ion, Selenia, go on ahead. I need to talk to Seth,” I said. Selenia tilted her head to the side.

“What if we get lost?”

I sighed. “Don’t worry, it’s a straight shot from here. Besides, we’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded, skipping on ahead with Ion behind her. The green-haired teen shot me a concerned look, but didn’t argue. Sorylle glanced between us and decided to pad along up ahead with the two of them while Seth and I followed.

Seth looked like I’d caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. “You knew.” He didn’t have to say more than that.

“I suspected.”

“You never called me out on it.”

“I saw no need to. You weren’t the only mole. I trust you more than I trust the other.”

Seth stopped, and I stopped a moment later so as to avoid leaving him behind. “There’s another?”

I nodded. “Anise. She’s leaking info to Mohs... Though she’s doing it to protect her parents,” I said. Seth took a deep breath.

“I see.”

“When did you decide to cross?”

Seth didn’t answer for a while. In fact, we’d reached the door that led to the library hiding the room with the fonic glyph to Mt. Zaleho before he did.

“When you introduced me in Theor Forest.” I looked up at him, and he sighed. “You called me Seth _Balfour_. Up until then, I’d never even considered that as a possibility. Seth Arlynde was a member of the Council, and he would do as Zion ordered because he didn’t know any better.”

I smiled. “I think I like Seth Balfour. And I think Jade does, too.”

Seth fidgeted. “That’s questionable.”

I laughed, moving around the bookshelves and noting Ion, Sorylle, and Selenia standing around near a table looking rather confused. I froze, recognizing the girl who stood there even though I’d only met her once before.

What the hell is Rialle doing in Daath, though!?

“Here. Sync wanted to make sure this got to you guys,” she was saying, handing Ion a big, dusty book. Ion smiled.

“Thank you.” Then he paused, frowned and blinked a few times. “Wait... aren’t you one of my Fon Master Guards?”

Rialle giggled. “Yep. Though from what I’ve overheard Sync saying, it sounds like he’s going to be coming back as a God-General. I might just put in a transfer request.”

Ion continued to blink, before he sighed. “He is. Fifth Division, right back where he was before he left,” he admitted.

Rialle smiled. “Thanks! That actually simplifies things!” She turned and walked past me, and I certainly didn’t miss the amused wink at me as she did so.

“Who the heck was that?” Selenia asked. Ion looked baffled.

“She’s one of my Fon Master Guardians, but beyond that, I can’t tell you much. My guess is, she’s been following Sync around long enough to figure out the differences between us. Sounds like he trusts her, too,” Ion said.

I nodded. “He would. She may look like she’s younger than you, but she’s actually seventeen. Very good at keeping secrets, and very friendly. The kind of person that Reighn would probably employ as a ‘contact.’ Hell, she might _be_ one of his contacts,” I said, barely censoring my words. Ion looked up at me curiously.

“You know her?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Sort of.” Yes. We had a rather _strange_ conversation in Belkend.

“What was her name?” Seth asked.

“Rialle,” I said simply. Hmm... Wonder what happened to Bela...?

“Yes... Rialle DeSeto, if I remember correctly,” Ion agreed. I took a deep breath and turned, walking to the back wall and then wandering along until I was about halfway down the line of bookshelves.

“I don’t get it. There’s a sephiroth hidden in the cathedral?” Selenia asked. I shook my head.

“No, but the only really reasonable way to get to it is via fonic glyph. Now where’s the... Aha!” I kicked the bottom edge of the bookshelf and watched as it slid back and then to the side. I crossed my arms and smirked at the others. “It’s right in here,” I said, indicating the door set into the alcove where the bookshelf had been. Ion blinked.

“I had no idea that was even there,” he said. I nodded.

“Yep. Come on.” I stepped through, walking straight across to stand on the glyph. Sorylle followed without protest, Seth doing the same. Selenia and Ion took a moment to gawk, but they eventually joined us, and I let loose fonons on the glyph. Light surrounded us, and I felt the usual upheaval of my stomach attempting to surface as it faded again, leaving us in the area with that thrice-damned fonstone where Ion dies.

I walked right past it, heading straight for the sephiroth. The others lagged behind a bit, at least until I had to stop and tap my foot. With the Daathic Seal over the doorway, I was a little stuck.

“Oh, I’ll get that.”

I looked off to one side, not saying the words that had popped in my head. Not out loud, at least. ‘Yes, that’s why I’m standing here waiting on you.’

Ion lifted his arms, the set of rings spinning almost immediately, and I raised an eyebrow, impressed at how quickly he could break through it. Even Sync, who had gotten quite a bit of practice in over the last year or so, couldn’t break it that fast.

Just goes to show, no two people have the same strengths. Ion _still_ couldn’t use Akashic Torment without nearly falling over.

I stepped in, leading the way down, and cursed when I realized that the torches weren’t lit. Selenia sighed.

“Where’s Mieu when you need him?” she muttered. I shrugged.

“With Luke.” I slipped half out of my body, summoning up the same Energies I had the last time I’d been forced to do this. Once the torch was lit, I walked across the bridge, ignoring the drain on my strength.

This was not going to be a fun sephiroth to do a second time.

“Hey, can I try using Fireball on the next one?” Selenia asked. I stopped, blinked, and thought it over. Well, no reason not to let her try it.

“Why not?” I agreed. If nothing else, any excuse to put off having to use magic again.

Selenia grinned and started skipping again, and I sighed, smiling at her enthusiasm.

It was... oddly uncomfortable, walking through the sephiroth with the group I was with. I’d gotten used to Ion and Seth. But Sorylle wasn’t Twilight, and Selenia wasn’t Dark, Reighn, or Natalia. Or Asch, for that matter. I watched as she let off the trio of fireballs, and smiled when they successfully lit up the torch.

“Thanks. That was actually really tiring,” I admitted as we walked across the next bridge. Selenia looked up at me and flashed me a grin.

“I thought it might be. I figured I’d at least try. After all, you’re going to be tired enough after dealing with the passage ring,” she said. I laughed.

“Too true. Too true...”

It took another set of fireballs to light up a third torch, and then we were home free. I walked up to the passage ring, no longer with a care that the miasma was about to surge into my body.

Once I’d torn down Zion’s riddle and then re-opened the valve, I started looking at what Asch and Jade had done previously. With a few moment’s work, Mt. Zaleho was accessible remotely... as long as one was willing and able to input the correct passwords and whatnot. I’d kept the hymns in place, thrown a new riddle on, and then set up a password for the remote access. Interestingly enough, the passage rings gave me the option of adding remote access to the other four that had our extra locks.

I found it amusing that I was able to do all of that in about half an hour, when Luke told me it usually took him, Van, and Zion about an hour just to seal the valve and lock it back up.

Well, I suppose it helps that I’m from a world with rather more advanced technology. And I’ve had plenty of practice.

Once I shut it down, I walked away from the terminal and crossed my arms. “We should get back to Daath. I’m too far away to reach Asch from here,” I said. The others nodded, though Ion looked worried. Selenia seemed concerned, too, but not quite so much.

I smiled. “Hey, I’m fine. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than Asch and Jade,” I said. Ion sighed.

“That’s what I’m worried about...” he muttered. I shrugged it off and started walking.

We got lucky, not having to fight any monsters. We made it back to the cathedral in about twenty minutes.

I reached out, snagging Asch’s mind. It had been a little over an hour and a half since Luke and the others had been arrested.

*Find Jade!* Asch ordered before I could speak. I frowned and started searching, feeling my throat get tighter with every minute I didn’t find him. Then, finally, I slipped past something, and nudged it.

*Jade?*

A general feeling of confirmation was my only response. I started trying to figure out just where he was, before I realized something, something that boded ill for Jade.

*Heh... Looks like the gossip about a seventh level is true,* I said, though it was dry and humorless.

I felt ice dripping into my body, because even though he was doing his best to hide it, I could tell that Jade was in a lot of pain. Dist had done something to him.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _The reason this took so freaking long to post? That scene with Rialle? Since Kairi is heavily based on me, and Rialle is one of my oldest characters... Kairi_ recognized _Rialle... as a character she'd created! No! Nono! And then Bela just made it worse a couple chapters later. So yeah. I was cleaning up that mess._


	70. Chapter 7.7 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_*I'm sure Sync will be_ thrilled _about that.* -Asch_

* * *

*Stay in that library and flush the miasma,* Asch ordered. *Dark has all of his equipment back, I’m sending him to look for Jade. I’m taking Noelle to see if Dist left the Albiore where we landed. The Dark Wings are coming with us.*

I frowned. *Fine. But I’m going after Jade myself as soon as the miasma is gone.*

*That’s fine. Contact Dark when you reach Headquarters... and try not to cause a scene.*

I laughed. *I’ll try. Can’t promise anything more than that.*

Asch sighed. *Alright. See you later.*

He cut the connection, but not before something else reached me. A couple of words he’d never meant to say that weren’t words so much as feelings he wasn’t yet sure of. I almost choked on those, before taking a deep breath and forcing myself to calm down.

“I’m going to take a short break to flush the miasma,” I announced. “Then we’re going to go get Jade.”

Selenia, Ion, Seth, and Sorylle all looked at me like I was nuts.

“Isn’t that what Asch and the Dark Wings are doing?” Selenia asked. I scowled.

“Dist separated Jade from Noelle and Dark. He’s in a lot of pain, and he’s even further under the cathedral than he was the last time we were here,” I said. Ion’s eyes widened.

“But wasn’t he on the sixth level?! That means...”

“There really is a seventh level, it seems.” I closed my eyes and slipped out of my body, turning to start flushing out the miasma while still listening to the conversation behind me.

“Seventh level?” Seth asked. Ion nodded.

“Yes. There have always been rumors about a seventh level to the prisons, but I’d thought they were just that—rumors. I never considered that they might be true,” he admitted. “Still, if they are true, then I don’t think I want to know the kind of condition we’ll find Jade in.”

Selenia was the next to speak. “If they’re that secretive about it, how are we even going to get down there?”

It was silent a moment. “I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s going to be pretty,” Ion said. I finished up with the miasma about then and jumped back to my body, standing and drawing everyone’s attention back to me.

“Let’s go. We don’t have the time to waste here,” I said. They nodded, and we headed for the door, practically running up the stairs. I reached out, consciously feeling around the telepathic field. Asch, Noelle, and the Dark Wings were on the edge, and leaving it fast. Dark was somewhere below and behind us, which made sense, given where Oracle Knights Headquarters was. Jade, again, was on the edge.

*We’re coming,* I told him.

*Don’t!*

My step faltered, and I tripped over the last step, going sprawling out in the hallway just as a trio of Oracle Knights showed up, weapons drawn and ready to attack us. Two shots rang out, followed up with a Dragon’s Flower.

Ion had shot to kill, and Seth’s arte hadn’t spared the third Oracle Knight the same fate.

I glanced back at Ion, and watched as his eyes widened in horror as the reality of what he had just done hit him. I closed my eyes. “Grieve later!” I yelled, already back on my feet and running. *And why the hell not?!* I asked Jade.

*It’s... a trap... Flick...*

I rolled my eyes. *Oh, just her? This’ll be easy then...*

Then Jade was out of my range, and the connection broke. I glanced back at Seth.

“Flick is on our side, right?” I asked.

Now it was Seth’s turn to trip. Selenia helped him up, Ion following behind them in something of a daze. That didn’t surprise me. He had just killed two of his own soldiers.

“Yeah... She’s the first one who found out I’d defected, told me she’d left months ago. Promised to keep my secret as long as I kept hers. Why?!” Seth responded. I grinned.

“This is about to get interesting.”

I’m sure I was getting baffled looks, but I ignored them, racing down the steps in the fonic glyph room and then through the door that didn’t lead to the lobby. Down the hallway, Silver Clematis already flashing into my hand, turn the corner, and...

A blur of silver, blue, black, and orange was probably the last thing that soldier saw before he died, Silver Clematis killing him almost instantly before once again flashing out of existence. The door he’d been guarding was wrenched open, and I ran in, made a sharp turn, landed about halfway down the steps, and then busted through _that_ door.

*Dark, where are you?!* I called telepathically. Dark’s response was almost immediate.

*Right under you, make a little more noise why don’t you?*

I rolled my eyes, checked the distance between our minds, ran for the railing, and jumped. Seth and Selenia were right behind me, though Ion jumped up on Sorylle before she could make the jump as well. Probably a good thing, since I don’t think he’d have been able to stick the landing.

“Hi!”

Dark scowled. “You are way too chipper, given that we still don’t know where Jade is.”

I shrugged. “Oh, I know where he is. Come on, this way,” I said, running for the prisons. Dark joined the rest of the group straggling along behind me.

“What exactly are we doing, again?” Dark asked. Ion sighed, still seated on Sorylle. Did he get tired or something?

“Jade’s been locked up on the very bottom level of the cathedral, a level that’s been mostly rumor up until now. And something about Flick. I’m not sure what,” Ion explained.

Then Jade was back in range, and he managed to snag my field almost immediately.

*Get out of here, damn it!*

I shook my head. *Hell no! It’s just Flick, right?*

*Yes, but—*

*She’s not with the Council. She’s not with Van, either, for that matter. Can you speak to her?*

It was silent for a moment, and then I heard Jade’s voice. It was more a croak than anything else, but it was him. “Flick?”

“I’m not supposed to talk to you, you know,” the familiar half-scathing reply came back.

*Tell her Aerith caught the two of them.*

“Aerith... caught you... two,” Jade said. Flick didn’t reply for a while.

“Are you talking to Kairi telepathically?” she asked. I got the impression that Jade nodded after a moment. “Can she connect to me, too?”

*No, still too far away.*

“Can she hear me through you?” I sensed Jade nodding. “Then ask her who the second person is.”

*Seth.* Jade relayed my answer.

Another moment of silence. “Is Seth with her?”

*Yes.*

I heard, quite clearly, the relief in Flick’s voice when she sighed. Alarm flashed through Jade’s mind before it faded to shock. “Gig’s up, then. But... you can’t walk, can you?”

Jade grunted, the irritation telling us both quite plainly that no, he couldn’t.

Then, as I made it to the bottom of the second set of stairs, I managed to brush against Flick’s mind. I built up a connection.

*How many soldiers between second and seventh?* I asked. Flick sounded startled.

*What? Ah, eighteen. Why?*

I glanced over my shoulder. “Dark, Seth, Sorylle, with me. Ion, Selenia, find places to hide and stay up here. Don’t let any more Oracle Knights down here,” I ordered. Ion’s eyes widened as he realized what I was implying, but he took a deep breath and nodded nonetheless, Sorylle slowing just enough for him to jump off without hurting himself before she took off full-speed to catch up to us.

Dark pulled one gun out and flicked a switch, before digging around in his bag and loading it with a bullet. “I’ve ten bullets, Ion’s got another twenty,” he said. I nodded.

“Save as many of yours as you can. Seth, how long can you store an arte?”

“Two minutes if I’m standing, forty-five seconds running.”

“Right. We’ll save those for corners,” I decided. And Dark still had no idea what he was doing with chakrams. Which meant that we’d have to face at least some of the Oracle Knights head-on. I scowled, ready to summon up Silver Clematis at a moment’s notice.

I kept a lookout for minds, and grinned when the closest one that didn’t belong to a friend was practically right around a coming corner. “Seth!” I hissed.

“Right...” he mumbled. Fonons collected up, and I heard him muttering under his breath. We rounded the corner, and the Oracle Knight turned to look at us.

“Dragon’s Flower!”

The Oracle Knight barely got a chance to yell before the flames struck him full-force. Sorylle unleashed an Ice Stream next, and as we ran past, I noted the way his Energy Core was dimming. Dead, then.

Down another set of stairs, and I jumped the last four, rebounded off the wall, and struck out with Silver Clematis.

“What the he—“

The second Oracle Knight was cut off by the same sword that had killed his fellow, and we kept moving. “There’s two more about halfway to the next staircase. One minute,” I warned the others. Seth and Sorylle grunted an acknowledgement.

This continued until the sixth floor. We’d taken out twelve Oracle Knights so far, but that still left six of them, and we had _just_ figured out where the steps to the seventh floor were.

“Reaper’s Toll! Phoenix Flare!”

A pained grunt followed it up, and Seth’s eyes widened as the sounds of a fight continued. “Flick’s down here?!”

I nodded, taking the steps two or three at a time and landing in a small but open space. Flick stood between four Oracle Knights and a duo of familiar figures. One was leaning heavily on the other, smaller figure.

“Need help?” I asked, already jumping in and slashing at soldiers. Flick rolled her eyes, mask gone, abandoned in a corner. Judging from the blood dripping down the side of her face, it hadn’t been taken off willingly, either.

“That’d be peachy.”

“Cut the sarcasm, please,” Seth groaned. “Dragon’s Flower!”

Flick smirked as she ran at the last Oracle Knight. “You’re no fun. Phoenix Flare!” I blinked at the entirely unfamiliar strike arte, then shook it off and ran over to the two people behind her.

“Here, I’ve got him,” I said, lifting Jade onto Sorylle’s back. Florian looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes.

“Okay.”

“Whoa... How many replicas of Ion _are_ there?” Seth asked. I shrugged.

“Well, Ion was the seventh. It doesn’t surprise me that Mohs kept an extra,” I said. I looked down at Florian and tilted my head to the side. “Do you have a name?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No.”

I thought for a few moments. While I hated to take Anise’s glory... “Well... What do you think of Florian?” He looked up at me, eyes going almost impossibly wide. For a moment I was worried he was going to cry, and then he started grinning. I giggled. “Okay, Florian it is then.”

“Uh, hate to bust the happy scene, but we should really get out of here,” Flick commented. I nodded, glancing one more time at Sorylle and then heading back up the stairs. I reached out, looking for Selenia and Ion. I didn’t manage to reach them again until we’d made it up to the fifth floor.

*Congratulations, Ion. You just went from having one brother to two.*

*You found another replica?!* Ion sounded shocked, and elated.

*Yep. And he is still grinning like an idiot just because I gave him a name... poor kid...*

*What’d you name him?* Ion asked.

*Florian. I figured Mohs had kept him just in case you ever died and he needed another backup,* I said. Ion’s emotions were coming through the bond clearly now, and I knew that bringing Florian along was the right idea. Having to kill Oracle Knights had hit Ion hard. Florian would be able to help him.

We made it up the last few floors without incident and met up with Ion and Selenia. Florian had been heaved up onto Sorylle’s back behind Jade, while Seth and Flick had a rather circling conversation about Aerith’s assault.

“How many?” I asked, noting that a nearby cell contained Oracle Knight bodies. Ion swallowed hard.

“Fourteen.”

I put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at me and forced a smile. Then we started running again. Dark came up front with me, the White Lotus chakrams held by the crossed bars in the center. I raised an eyebrow, and Dark sighed.

“What? I think I’ve got something of an idea how to use them at close range. And I gave Ion my ammo.”

I nodded in concession to that, slowing at the top of the stairs and glancing out into headquarters. I heaved a small sigh of relief that there weren’t many Oracle Knights there.

“I am suddenly really glad that Van took off with most of the soldiers. So much easier to sneak through here.”

Dark chuckled. “No kidding.”

We made a break for the exit, a few of the Oracle Knights running at us. Ion shot down two of them, while Dark and I killed another three. Then we were out of the cathedral, and since it was nearing dusk, the streets were a lot clearer. Sorylle charged down the steps, growling loudly at anyone foolish enough to get in her way, the rest of us following in her wake.

We were just outside Fourth Monument Hill when Asch finally came back within my range. I opened a connection immediately.

*Albiore?*

*The flightstone’s gone, but Noelle says we can still move over water and land without it,* Asch replied. I rolled my eyes. *You already knew that.*

*Just wanted to make sure it was there. Especially given the condition Jade’s in.*

*What happened to him?*

*I’m not sure, I haven’t gotten a chance to look yet. Is Noelle ready to go?*

*Yeah. Want us to pick you up outside Fourth Monument Hill?* he asked. I slowed to a walk, the others following suit. Ion was breathing hard from the exertion, but Sorylle couldn’t carry three people.

*Please do. Ion’s exhausted, Jade’s unconscious, and Florian’s not used to walking, let alone running. I don’t think we can get much further like this,* I said.

*Who the hell is Florian?*

*One of the other Ion replicas.*

I heard Asch sigh. *I’m sure Sync will be thrilled about that.*

*Just get over here,* I grumbled, cutting him off. I looked back at the others. “Come on, not much further now.”

Florian slipped off of Sorylle and walked over to Ion. “What’s your name?” he asked. Ion smiled, a real one, not forced.

“Ion. Kairi said you’re Florian?”

Florian grinned. “Yes! Um...” He paused and looked at Sorylle. “You can ride if you want.”

Ion just smiled.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _I never originally intended for Flick to defect from the Council. Then she revealed that she was roughly a year old,_ really _didn't like her original, and had a crush on Seth. Oh, and apparently she likes Kairi and looks up to her as an older sister. So... I just couldn't force her to keep to the original outline. She defected... and then revealed_ more _strangeness to me. Hng..._


	71. Chapter 7.8 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_"Much as I know you like complaining about your old bones, Jade, get over it." -Kairi_

* * *

I gazed up at the castle far over my head. “They’re up there.”

Asch sighed. “What about Florian? Chances are, Uncle won’t listen to me and we’ll have to get them out by force. I don’t really want to risk him getting hurt if that happens.”

I looked behind me at the group standing on the pier. Me and Asch. Ion, Sorylle, Florian. Selenia, Dark, and Jade. Seth and Flick. Twilight, but no Reighn. He and Aerith had been gone when Twilight made it back to the square, and he hadn’t been able to track their scents in the Remday crowd.

We’d sent Noelle and the Dark Wings ahead of us to Belkend in case things _did_ go bad.

I crossed my arms. “You’re going to go talk to your father first, right? Take Florian with you, have your mother keep him at the manor. They’ll have each other for company and King Ingobert doesn’t have to know about it.”

Ion nodded. “Yes, I think that would be best. But what about the rest of us?”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “I’m pretty much useless right now. I probably should have gone with the Dark Wings.”

I sighed, trying to figure out what all needed to be done. Asch needed to talk to his father and uncle, but if he failed, then someone would have to go break Tear, Anise, and Guy out. And I don’t think having Ion there would be a good idea. We’d need the White Knights _and_ Baticul’s citizens, so...

“Alright. Asch and Florian are Group 1. Jade, you’re leading Group 4. Ion, Group 3. I’ve got Group 2,” I said. “Sorylle, you’re the other half of Group 3. Assuming Asch can’t talk his uncle out of this, you’re the one who’s going to tell Pere to assemble the White Knights. Dark, Twilight, you’re coming with me. We’ll be getting Tear, Anise, and Guy out. Asch, make sure no one in the audience hall can interfere while we go to get Luke and Natalia.”

“I guess that leaves me, Seth, and Flick with Jade?” Selenia guessed.

I nodded. “The people of Baticul love Natalia. If they found out she was going to be executed for a crime she didn’t commit, they’d riot. I don’t like it, but we’ll probably need the chaos from that to cover our escape. If things go south, you guys _have_ to make sure they find out.”

“If they get between Natalia and the soldiers, they’ll get hurt!” Ion cried. Asch crossed his arms, eyes closed.

“I hate to say this, but Kairi’s right. We can’t lose Natalia and Luke here. And they’ll see it that way too,” he said. Jade sighed.

“Alright. I take it we’re all to keep in contact via Kairi, then?”

I shook my head. “No, I won’t be able to reach everyone. My telepathy range relapsed after my replica data was taken. You, Jade, and Ion, Asch, and Luke. We’re going to be the backbone of this whole thing... Much as I know you like complaining about your old bones, Jade, get over it.”

My brother closed his mouth, the sarcastic comment I’m sure he’d been about to drop silenced on his lips. Ion took a deep breath and looked at Florian past Sorylle, then at Asch.

“Alright. Let’s go then.”

Asch turned, Sorylle and the two green-haired replicas following him even as I snapped all the necessary connections into place. Dark, Twilight, and I left next.

“Be careful,” Seth whispered. Jade didn’t comment on the fact that I could hear his replica through him.

The seven of us piled onto the lift that would take us straight up to the top, or at least, six of us did. Asch stopped, looking at me and Dark. “I’m sad to say I much prefer my last memory of watching the two of you stepping onto this lift,” he said before reluctantly getting on with us. I crossed my arms.

“Natalia saw you, you know. She brushed it off, but it’s a good thing you ran off when you did, or she probably wouldn’t have,” I said. Asch sighed.

“Yeah. I figured...”

Dark sighed, and I put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry.” He shook his head.

“No, don’t apologize. There was nothing we could have done to stop it happening,” he replied. Asch flinched, realizing what I had, and Sorylle growled something softly. Dark smiled, growling back, while Florian watched the exchange with wide eyes. I wondered how long it would take him to pick up the liger language. He’d taken quite a shine to Sorylle already.

The lift ground to a halt, and Asch started off, Ion, Florian, and Sorylle following right behind headed for Fabre Manor while Dark, Twilight, and I headed up to the castle. The men on guard moved to block our way, but Dark scowled.

“Don’t even think about it, Corporal.” One of the men fidgeted. “I might like bending the rules, but I’m still a superior officer,” he said. The other looked at the first.

“Is that true?” I tilted my head to the side. He sounded almost... hopeful?

The corporal was quiet for a moment before chuckling and getting out of the way. “I’d forgotten, but yes. Go on in, Lieutenant. If you’re here to do what I think you are, you won’t find us getting in your way coming out.”

Dark blinked. “Harvey?”

The man nodded and chuckled, his partner backing off as well. “Go, Dark. You’ve got maybe an hour before they deliver the poison. From what I’ve heard the maids say, it’s a fast one,” that man said. Dark glanced at me, then grinned.

“Thanks Harvey, Aro.” The second soldier chuckled, apparently amused that he’d finally figured out his identity. I relayed the info on the poison back through to the others and then the two of us headed inside.

Dark looked around. “Can you contact Luke and Natalia now?”

“Yeah, they’ve been within range since we made it up here,” I admitted, nudging the both of them.

*Kairi!*

I smiled, noting that both of them were in Natalia’s chambers.

*Good to hear you both,* Asch said.

*Asch! You’re here too?* Natalia asked.

*Everyone but Reighn, Sync, and Cantabile is here. Something happened with Aerith back in Daath, which is why Reighn’s missing,* I explained. *Natalia, you remember what I taught you about flushing poison?*

*Yes... Don’t tell me they’re going to—!*

*We’re nobility, Natalia,* Luke interrupted. *It was actually the most likely choice.*

*Harvey and Aro said we’ve got an hour at most. Natalia, teach Luke what you can just in case they come before we can get to you. We still have to bust Tear, Guy, and Anise out, and they’re in the other direction,* I said.

*Father and the White Knights are ready if the talk with Uncle doesn’t go right,* Asch added. *And Florian is safely tucked away in Luke’s room, for lack of a better place to put him right now.*

*Who’s Florian?* Luke asked.

*We’ll explain later,* Asch said. He shot something that wasn’t so much an order or feeling at me as it was an imprint of one, and I nodded, turning and heading for the prisons.

*Twilight, stay here,* I ordered. He nodded, stopping and lounging next to one of the columns as if he’d been there his whole life. Dark smirked.

“Sad how used to ligers the men around here have gotten,” he commented, following through the door I was holding open. More than once, soldiers tried to get in our way, but a stern reminder from Dark of his rank got us past most of them. I had to knock a few out, because they outranked him, including the one guarding the door to the prison cells. Dark took the keys off of him and glanced at me, while I listened to the argument in the audience hall above.

It didn’t sound like it was going well, especially since Mohs had just had Natalia’s nanny (her grandmother, actually) confess the crime. Asch argued that it was her fault and not Natalia’s, but Mohs would hear none of it. And where was...

*Alpine’s here with the poison!* Luke cried through the link. I scowled, and so did Asch. Ion raised the alarm at Fabre Manor, while I motioned for Dark to release the three in the cells below us. There weren’t any soldiers down there, so I wasn’t worried about him being attacked. I turned most of my attention to Asch.

“You’re not listening to me at all, are you?” I heard him ask. “You don’t care, because you’ve already sent the poison!”

“Wha-what?! How did you—“ Mohs was spluttering. Asch turned, running back toward the door.

“Stop wasting my time!”

“Stop wasting his.”

*Asch, look out!* I yelled.

Asch’s sword was out of his sheath in a moment, blocking the crystalline blue blade that had nearly slashed his chest open. His eyes, and mine, widened as a silver shaft shoved him back, the redhead being so shocked that he completely lost his footing. A moment later, Asch was back on his feet.

*I thought you said—!* he started.

*I never thought—!*

*Asch, behind you!* Luke yelled, having heard what the rest of us had missed in our shock. Asch backed up and turned, sword lashing out at the soldiers that had tried to sneak up on him.

Another mind brushed my field, not a familiar one, but I let it latch on regardless.

*Is that blue-haired man on our side or Van’s?*

I heaved a sigh of relief, even as I started running again, Dark, Tear, Guy, and Anise on my heels.

*I don’t have a fucking clue anymore,* I replied. A moment later, I saw our surprise enemy jumping to the side to avoid a sword coming from behind him. A sword held in the hand of one Duke Fabre. No longer having to worry about being surrounded, Asch turned to him.

“Reighn! What the hell are you doing?!” he snapped.

Reighn’s expression was grim as he spoke... gibberish. Well, it sounded like gibberish to me. Between Asch and Jade, the translation echoed back to me.

_“Clan above all. The Heir’s burden is the Clan’s burden. The Heritage cannot be lost.”_

*Ancient Ispanian?* Natalia asked in surprise. I got the impression that she was on the second plane... ah, healing Luke from the poison.

*Nice going, you two. Natalia, can you hold them off for two minutes?* I asked, noting Twilight getting up and joining us in our mad dash to Natalia.

*Yes.*

“What?! Why the hell are you reciting the old Clan Precepts?!” Asch yelled. Reighn shook his head.

“Aurelius was originally one of the six major Clans that all either disappeared during the Dawn Age or who were adopted as major Houses by the two countries. Aerith’s done some digging around. Aurelius, Fende, Gardios, Cecille, what’s left of Balacruft in the form of the remaining Balfours, and the four surviving Darigans, though only two are aware of their heritage. The men and women who wrote up the agreements to become Houses of Malkuth or Kimlasca left loopholes to reach back to the Clan Precepts,” he said. By this time, I was almost to Natalia’s chambers.

Tear stopped and started singing, and I watched through Natalia as Alpine and the two soldiers slumped to the ground.

“What does that have to do with you betraying us?” Asch asked, apparently having difficulty restraining himself.

“Everything,” Reighn said simply. He glanced back toward the door, then at Asch. “Aerith and I are the last of House Aurelius, the last of our Clan. I have no choice but to act for the sake of that Clan. If I don’t... Aerith will.” His hand started moving as he spoke, and while none of the men at the far end of the room saw it, Asch and Duke Fabre did. Asch’s eyes widened again, and Reighn nodded almost imperceptibly.

*I missed it, what did he—*

*Tataroo Valley, north of the sephiroth, east wall.*

*Directions,* Jade realized. *He’s giving us directions. He knows we don’t have a clue what he’s talking about.*

I lifted Luke to his feet and frowned as he swayed. “They weren’t kidding about it being fast-acting,” Natalia said, looking up at me worriedly. I shook my head.

“No time. Let’s go.” I forced Luke up onto Twilight’s back and then started running again. *Ion?*

*The Kimlascan soldiers managed to disable the direct lift before we could get there, but we got one of the others. We’ve cleared a path down to the ground level, but once we’re on the lift, we’re in the citizens’ hands. Assuming more soldiers don’t come,* he said.

*Citizens? What?*

I cringed, remembering a bit late that I’d had Natalia connected still.

*Asch, go,* Duke Fabre ordered.

*But—*

*You don’t have the time to be arguing. Get your brother and cousin out of here.*

Luke, who was also still connected, was just about as shocked as Asch was. The original took a deep breath and nodded, slipping past his father and taking off down the stairs into the lobby, catching up to us just as we ran past. Asch and Luke exchanged a look, before Asch looked up at me, and I smiled.

“Come on. Ion and Sorylle are next. Then the others on the ground level.”

“Ion’s still here?!” Anise asked. “Man, if you had to bring one of them, why not Sync?!”

I rolled my eyes. “We didn’t have the time. Besides... None of us really likes it, but Ion’s not the burden he used to be.”

No one mentioned that circumstances had forced Ion to become as much a killer as the rest of us. Tear, Guy, and Anise didn’t know, and the rest of us wanted to put that conversation off as long as possible.

I started severing connections as I ran down the steps out of the castle. They were quickly starting to tax me, so I eventually ended up with just Asch, Dark, and Jade connected.

Sorylle and Pere stood by one of the lifts, a number of Kimlascan soldiers unconscious or dead nearby. Sorylle growled to Twilight. “Ion waits on the next level. Good thing Dark handed over the extra ammo. I’ve heard him shooting a lot more than I know he’d prefer.”

Twilight growled something that wasn’t speech so much as a grim confirmation that he’d heard. We all started piling onto the lift, and I didn’t miss Pere’s comment to Guy as the blonde ran past.

“Be careful, Master Gailardia. If Aurelius is invoking the Clan Precepts again...”

“I know. You watch out too, Pere,” he said. His blue eyes met mine, widening slightly before I smiled and prodded him mentally.

*Relax. Everyone still connected already knows.*

The lift headed down, and I couldn’t help the way my fingers were twitching. I could still hear fighting below, which meant that more soldiers had shown up.

The lift stopped, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. A solider ran for Ion, Anise crying out in horror.

The replica turned, aimed, and fired.

The soldier dropped.

Ion didn’t even flinch.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _In Tony's Bloodline Trilogy, Valon (replica 6, who_ will _be making an appearance in Re:AST) is an assassin. In Re:AST, he's a mercenary. He uses guns in Bloodline, and a dagger and shield in Re:AST. Ion uses guns in Re:AST... and a staff and shield in Bloodline. Twee... Let's play swap the weapons, shall we? -is shot-_


	72. Chapter 7.9 - The Arte of Sacrifice

_"You didn't notice? She was paying more attention to us than the road yesterday. That's why she tripped." -Kairi_

* * *

“Ion, look out!”

A green-sleeved arm shot out even as the fourteen-year-old turned, Ion glancing at the oncoming soldier just long enough to aim and shoot the gun in that arm. The soldier dropped almost as soon as the bullet struck.

Ion didn’t even twitch, simply turned and fired the next bullet at a soldier who was about to kill one of the White Knights. That one went down, clutching at the back of his knee and yelling profanities.

I jumped off the lift, striking out with my katana and knocking out as many as I could. Those I couldn’t disable were killed.

“Ion!” Anise sounded horrified.

“Not the time, Anise!” Ion said, reloading his weapons and making a face. “I’m almost out!” he announced. Dark scowled.

“Damn! I don’t have any more I can give you! I didn’t even think to grab another box while we were in the castle,” he cursed.

I huffed, kicking a soldier and glancing around. “No time! That’s the last for now! Let’s go!”

We piled onto the next lift, and I glanced around. “Seth, Jade, Flick, Selenia. They’re the only ones left, now.”

*Well now. This is actually rather amusing.*

*What?* I asked, poking Jade’s mind. He let me in a little further, and I got to watch through his eyes as General Goldberg fought against... Miyagi? Well now, hadn’t expected that. Oh well.

*We’re almost there.*

The lift stopped, and we started moving. I glanced back, noting Seth, Jade, and Selenia separating from the crowds and joining us.

“Princess Natalia! Most of the Zao Desert is gone! Head for the Inista Marsh!” one of the citizens yelled, holding off a soldier with a staff. Natalia stopped to argue, only for Asch to grab her and start pulling her along.

“But—“

“If we’re gone, the soldiers will stop attacking,” he reasoned. “We have to get out of here.”

I heard a pained grunt and looked back, just in time for a crimson and violet blur to drop between the injured Miyagi and General Goldberg. “Phoenix Flare!” Flick shouted, unleashing the blazing blast at the general. She dropped, picking up the wounded elder, and then started running. Knowing full well she wouldn’t last long, I hung back with Sorylle, the two of us managing to get him up on Sorylle, while I pushed a number of Energies into the wounds. It was rough, and probably painful, but we couldn’t risk him losing much more blood.

“Someone want to tell me why we’re bringing him with us?” Asch asked. Flick scowled.

“Aerith’s been digging in the old Clan shit. Miyagi-sama was leaving Baticul anyway,” she said. Miyagi chuckled.

“Oh, come now. There’s no need for that kind of formality, Flick-chan,” he said. I blinked. Wait, I thought Miyagi was Chinese? Ah, curse Asian people!

“Miyagi-san, then,” I muttered. He looked down at me in surprise.

“You know the Clan dialect?”

“Hai, a little.” Anise gave me a weird look, and I rolled my eyes. “’Hai’ means ‘yes.’” Confusion now cleaned up, I glanced up at Miyagi. “You wouldn’t happen to know a young woman named Din in Chesedonia, would you?”

He blinked. “Ah, is that where my granddaughter got off to?” Answer: yes. “Hmm... But Chesedonia fell...”

“She’s fine,” I assured him. “By the way, I don’t think I told you my name the first time we met. I’m Kairi.”

He chuckled. “I am Miyagi. Tell me, how much of the old Clan dialect do you know?”

I shrugged. “Not a lot. My mom taught me a few songs in it before she died and started teaching me a few words, but I’m not fluent in it.”

Our conversation continued along this tangent for a while, with Miyagi teaching me a few new words, or re-teaching me some I’d forgotten in my time on Auldrant. About halfway to the Inista Marsh, we were forced to stop and make camp. Jade and Seth both gave me odd looks as Miyagi and I continued to speak about Japanese while I healed him.

“You know... If what Reighn said was right, you two should probably learn a bit of that as well,” Asch commented. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“I didn’t hear him.”

I looked up, suddenly remembering what Asch was talking about. “Aurelius, Balacruft, Cecille, Darigan, Fende, Gardios. Those are the six Clans he mentioned, right? And he said the last of the Balacruft Clan remains as the Balfours.”

Miyagi nodded. “Hai. Aurelius, Fende, and Gardios joined Malkuth. Balacruft, Cecille, and Darigan allied themselves with Kimlasca. However, the abilities granted to the Balacruft and Darigan clans through their bloodlines made them feared, and Kimlasca eliminated them, or attempted to. I am the first Darigan to return to Kimlasca in over a thousand years. But not the last, it seems,” he finished, looking at Dark, who had his back turned.

Natalia saw it though, and frowned. “What? Dark?” The boy in question turned then, glancing around cautiously. Apparently he hadn’t been paying attention at all.

Miyagi frowned and nodded. “Hai. There is no mistaking it,” he said. “You cannot gather precise amounts of fonons, correct?”

Dark blinked, but nodded. “Yeah. I have to fine-tune all of my fonic artes for overloading, or I can’t risk using them at all.” Miyagi chuckled.

“I think I can help you with that,” he said. “But in the morning, when I am healed.”

The conversation petered out after that for the most part, Seth reluctantly joining in on the Japanese discussion I was having with Miyagi. The man found it amusing that, despite forgetting much of the words I’d learned, I could still write every character of hiragana I’d known. Seth didn’t pick up hiragana at all, but we did manage to get most of the honorifics into his head.

Jade looked at both of us like we were insane when we told each other goodnight, because Seth called me nee-chan and I’d called him otouto. I’d then turned right around and called Jade ‘aniki,’ baffling him even further as I slipped into the tent I was sharing with Selenia and Natalia. Tear, Anise, and Flick were in another, and most of the boys were spread out among the other two, Asch and Ion taking the first watch.

Anise had argued against that one strongly, only for her to be repeatedly shot down by the replica in question. And when I say ‘shot down,’ I mean he insisted until Anise got to a point of being ridiculous before he aimed one of his guns at her. It wasn’t loaded, nor was he aiming for anything major, but it had gotten the point across.

Ion had then sulked off to one side of the camp, sat down, and wrapped his arms around his legs. Luke had been the only one to go over to him that he hadn’t chased off, and I think that might have been more Luke’s stubbornness than Ion’s lack of trying.

Needless to say, after everything that had happened, I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night.

I was still the first one awake, discounting Jade and Guy, who were the ones on guard when I left the tent. I walked over to the fire we’d had last night, put some more wood on, and let it light up.

I’d been sitting there about three minutes, waiting for the water to heat up so I could have some coffee, when Guy walked over and sat... close enough to be considered ‘next to me’ but far enough that he wouldn’t react to every little movement I made.

“How did you know?” he asked. I frowned and looked up at him. “About me and Pere.”

I shrugged. I’d been expecting that to crop up, ever since I remembered just after waking up that I’d mentioned it while we were on the run. “Your name was a big giveaway. So is your sword style. Asch knew, because he saw you when he was kidnapped. Jade suspected for a long time, just never got the chance to ask you about it. Dark knew, more because he used to dig through birth records looking for Danté’s parents. I just followed the same trail of breadcrumbs Jade did.”

Guy sighed. “Were they really that much of a giveaway?” he asked. I smirked.

“Guy is short for Gailardia, and anyone who bothers to look knows that Eugenie Cecille was your mother. Cecil is just an altered version of Cecille. And even if that wasn’t enough, the Sigmund style is unique to Hod for its lack of a shield,” I said. Sometimes, I was very grateful that I remembered a lot of really odd bits and pieces of lines from Tales of the Abyss.

Guy scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Are you... planning to tell the others?”

I shook my head. “No... But you should find some way to join in on the Clan dialect discussions we’ve been having. Gardios is one of the six, too.”

“What about Tear? If you know about me, then...”

“You didn’t notice? She was paying more attention to us than the road yesterday. That’s why she tripped.”

Jade walked over and joined us then, before muttering something under his breath and looking at me. “What does ‘aniki’ mean?”

I grinned. “It’s a more casual word for big brother. Seth is my little brother, otouto. I’m his big sister, nee-chan. ‘Aneki’ is the casual option. Similarly, ‘nii-san’ is also a word for big brother,” I explained. Since the two of them had been otherwise occupied last night, I launched into something of a short lecture about honorifics, since that was something I’d mastered _before_ getting dropped into Auldrant.

By the time I was done, coffee was brewed, breakfast was started, and Dark and Natalia were both up. Luke was the next one awake, though his emergence from the tent was met by some jokes about Asch suddenly turning into an early riser. Of course, this meant that when Asch finally got up, he was teased for a good four minutes about his replica being an earlier riser than him, jokes that were met by his now almost trademarked ‘damn impressionable replicas.’

This, of course, got a good number of laughs from the group, and a few eye-rolls, namely from the replicas, as five of our group fell into that category.

We were up and off again shortly after breakfast was finished, and we’d broken into three groups, it seemed. Miyagi, Seth, Dark, Guy, Tear, and I made up one ‘group’. Luke, Ion, and the monsters were the second ‘group’. Flick, Selenia, Anise, Natalia, Jade, and Asch made up the third.

I kept a lookout for trouble, but ended up giving most of my attention to the elderly man walking with us. Dark actually looked caught between ecstatic and terrified of the thought that Miyagi was his grandfather, but the man’s insistence that his grandson’s name was Danté had finally convinced him. I thought it was amusing that Dark and Danté were cousins to Din. It sounded like Din was Miyagi’s elder daughter’s child, and Danté had been the younger’s child.

Tear was finally speaking up once in a while, and by the time we reached Inista Marsh in the late afternoon, we were all having some very boring conversations in Japanese, just to practice. Miyagi was always amused as he pointed out when one of us misspoke a word, and as we got more familiar with the different speech patterns, our sentences became smoother.

It was actually rather funny when Jade tried to get our attention and all of us replied with ‘Nani?’

He stared at us a moment before shaking his head, adjusting his glasses and then nodding toward the bridge nearby. “We’re taking something of a vote. We can either start through the marsh now, in which case, we’re going to have to at least double our number of guards on the nightshift, or we can wait until tomorrow morning and try to get through in just one day. Although we’ll be pushing it to pull that off.”

Dark was quiet a moment as he looked at the marsh.

And let me tell you, it’s not pretty. You know how it looks pretty in Tales of the Abyss? Heh. No.

The Inista Marsh is a marsh. And unfortunately, it looks like it’s low tide. Which means _mud._ Lots and lots of mud. I’m sure it looks a lot prettier in high tide, because I can see a lot of reeds and stuff. But the mud kinda ruins the whole thing.

“I’m not looking forward to going in there at all, but we don’t have much choice,” Dark admitted. “But if it’s low tide now...” he trailed off to think for a moment. “No. We won’t make it to any of the dry areas before nightfall, and it’s dangerous enough in the marsh during the day.”

“You’ve been through here a few times, yes?” Jade asked. Dark nodded.

“Yeah. Koran always hated it because the mud slowed us down horribly. In fact, we usually had to get a head start running in here if we wanted to get anywhere. He sank into the mud real bad...” He stopped here and looked over at Sorylle and Twilight. “I think I’m going to have to go on ahead with them. They’ll just get stuck in the mud if they aren’t running.”

Jade sighed. “I think you’ve successfully changed my mind. We’ll stay here for tonight. If you’re going to have to go ahead, it may be a good idea for us to have a map. Would you mind marking the uplands for us?”

Dark shook his head, walking over and pulling out his wing pack.

While they went over the route through the marsh, Luke and Ion came over to me. I looked up at them and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Ion sat next to me and took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

I frowned as Luke sat down, completing our little triangle. “What for?”

“For making me realize that Van was wrong,” Luke answered. Ion smiled.

“I... I think I almost lost it last night. If it weren’t for Luke, I might have. You talked him into leaving Van, and if you hadn’t he wouldn’t have been here to help me. So, thank you,” Ion explained.

I smiled. “You’re welcome. And you know, you can talk to me, too. I’m in much the same boat as you two are.”

Ion chuckled. “Thanks... Um...” he trailed off and looked away from me. “Could you... talk to Anise for me? I... I want to say something to her, but I’m worried she’ll just...” Ion stopped and closed his eyes.

I put a hand on his back, and he looked up at me. “I’ll talk to her. Assuming Natalia hasn’t already, at least.”

The two replicas laughed, and I grinned.

It was a slow process, yes. But they were healing.

We all were.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Jade wants nothing to do with this stuff. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. ...Too bad for him, he messed something up. Remember a certain line from when he met Tear and Luke in the Cheagle Woods? "Please, call me Jade. I'm not accustomed to being called by my family name." -evil laughter-_


	73. Chapter 7.10 - The Arte of Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, 20 Parts up, and I'm taking a break for now...

_"'Morning, beautiful." -Kairi_

* * *

“Move it!” I yelled, turning and blasting the Behemoth with a Demon Fang. Luke, Asch, and Guy followed up with Demon Fist (and another Demon Fang in Guy’s case), while Tear started singing the first hymn again.

“Silver Shot!” Natalia cried, finally pulling off the strike arte Dark had been teaching her. Dark unleashed the same arte, and a final, hyperresonance-enhanced Demon Fist from Luke in conjunction with Anise tossing a small bag of rafflesia pollen at it sent the Behemoth lumbering away from us again.

The rest of the group was now standing either on the bridge out of the marsh or was on the other side. Dark and Natalia were just barely on the bridge, Anise having stayed in the marsh simply because she couldn’t throw that far.

Why we’d given _her_ the bags of pollen, I didn’t know.

What should have been a two-day expedition had, no thanks to the Behemoth, turned into a five-day hike, with Dark and the ligers running from one little upland to the next, waiting for us to catch up. The uplands each had anywhere from three to twenty rafflesia flowers on the edges, which was a good thing at night when we were sleeping, even if they smelled bad.

Then again, the entire marsh smelled bad, so I guess the rafflesia flowers were just the icing on the cake.

Once we were all on the safe ground on the other side of the bridge, we took a moment to catch our breath. “Is it gone?” Natalia asked. Jade looked ready to fall over. No wonder, given the kind of torture they’d put him through. I was healing him every night, but whatever they’d given him made it a slow, painful process. To make things worse, it was like there was _another_ fon slot seal on him.

Jade had gone from asset to liability in the few hours that the Oracle Knights had gotten a hold of him, and none of us was happy about it.

“It won’t... leave the marsh,” Dark said, panting just as hard as the rest of us. He’d had to run back in and help get Natalia out of the mud. “Though... I’ll admit... I’d never seen it... up until now... I guess... Koran and I... always went through... fast enough... to avoid it...”

Asch looked around once he caught his breath. “We’re about four hours’ walk from Belkend now... Do we keep going, or stop and wait until morning?” he asked. I looked up. Late afternoon... did we want to keep going after that?

“I say we vote. All for continuing on to Belkend tonight, hands up,” Seth grumbled, very pointedly _not_ putting his up.

Sadly for him, we actually had to make a count. With fourteen of us humans, it meant he needed at least seven people to keep their hands down. And that would be without asking the monsters, of which we had three.

I had my hand up. So did Tear, Selenia, Guy, Dark, Asch, Ion, and Miyagi.

Sorylle growled. “Sorylle and I vote stay here,” Mieu said.

Jade did a bit of counting before scowling and looking at Twilight. The liger tilted his head to the side, considered for a bit, and then growled. Mieu made a sad noise and belly-flopped on Sorylle’s head. Dark sighed. “Looks like we’re walking, then. Jade, you and Natalia are in the worst shape. You two can ride the ligers. Let’s go.”

A few quiet groans later and some formation-shuffling, and we were off. No one really wanted to keep moving, to be honest. We were all filthy, and exhausted, and aching. But given the choice between a shower and a bed or waiting until morning to get to Belkend, I’d rather stay up late for the bed. The shower can be put off, but after four nights in the marsh and one outside it, I’d rather not have to go _another_ night outside it.

Complaints were, thankfully, kept to a minimum. Anise had gotten tired enough at one point that I’d volunteered to give her a piggy-back ride, only for Dark to jump in and do it instead, since he’d been ‘doing the easy job riding the ligers’ the last few days. Needless to say, I hadn’t argued.

We reached Belkend at about eight-thirty, well after dark. Asch dealt with the innkeeper while about half of us headed for the showers. I was among the half that didn’t, instead opting to crash in a random room. Asch had also handed out keys at random, so I had no idea who would be in the other bed when I woke.

Not that I cared at that point.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

_Thump!_

I groaned and rolled over, glaring at whoever had made that awful racket.

Oh.

I yawned, then forced a smile and a teasing tone. “’Morning, beautiful.”

Inarticulate grumbling was my only response as Asch got up, climbed back into bed, and pulled the covers over his head of really messy red hair. I giggled, pulling the covers off and looking for a clock. Ah. Four a.m. Well, a bit earlier than usual, but whatever. Shower time.

We’d ended up in Belkend before. Twice. The first time, it had been an accident. The second time was more for Sync’s benefit than anything else. That was also where I’d met Rialle, while trying and failing to find the green-haired teen I’d misplaced. Asch had, reluctantly, agreed to that second visit. So I’d been in this inn before, and thankfully didn’t have to wake someone up to ask directions to the shower.

Once cleaned, I noted that a basket had been commandeered by the others, and I smirked, tossing my clothes in as well before pulling on my old black pants and green strapless top. I was walking around barefoot, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I headed out into the inn’s common room, sat down, dropped my bag, and pulled out my sketchbook, doodling for a little bit. I was using light from one of the only few lamps, and I was busy drawing, so I didn’t see when I attracted company.

“That girl with the vines kinda looks like my sister.”

I glanced up and frowned. The girl in front of me had blonde hair, and blue eyes, and a very childish face. She noticed I was looking at her and grinned. “Hi! I’m Bela!”

I smiled, realizing why she looked familiar all of a sudden. “Ah. You’re the one Rialle was visiting when I first met her.”

Bela gave me a curious look. “You know Ria?”

I nodded. “Yeah. She’s a Fon Master Guardian, right?” Bela nodded happily. “She actually helped us out just a couple weeks ago, in addition to a rather long conversation about troublesome siblings a few months short of a year ago.”

Bela rolled her eyes, but giggled. “I’m glad she’s making friends! Mom’ll probably be glad, too! But I should go get the laundry now instead of chatting. Okay? But we should talk later.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How old are you?”

Bela grinned. “Ria’s my younger twin sister.” She then skipped off, cheerful as could be. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched her go.

It was about an hour later when someone new walked into the lobby.

“Hey Luke,” I greeted the redhead after just a glance up. Luke stopped.

“How do you know I’m not Asch?” he asked. I smirked.

“Because one, Asch woke me up after rolling out of bed onto the floor this morning and that bed-head would have taken him a while to brush out. Two, Asch is not a morning person, and it’s not even six yet. Ergo, you’re Luke.”

I got no response after that, no verbal response at least. Luke wandered over, sat next to me, and watched over my shoulder as I colored in the picture in front of me.

It had gone from being just a girl who looked like Rialle to being a group of eight girls. Luke looked at the picture oddly.

“That’s really good... although it’s also really confusing looking,” Luke said. I smiled.

“Thanks. I’ve been working on it for about two hours now,” I admitted. I shifted the sketchbook slightly. “See, my friends and I, despite the elemental setup for Energies, devised our own setup for a story we were doing.” Well, actually, a roleplay, but who cared? Luke looked interested. “There were a total of sixteen elements.”

“Sounds kinda complicated.”

I shrugged. “Well... There were five to begin with. Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Spirit. Then we added Light and Darkness. Then Ice, then Lightning... That was about when we set up the Basic-Complex system. The Mundane-Divine part wasn’t implemented until later... Anyway!” I looked down at the girls again. “We decided that Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Shadow were the Basic elements. Ice was aligned with Water, Spirit with Shadow, and Lightning with Light. Then Sarah threw in Space and Time, which got their own level, so now we had eight Basic elements...”

Luke’s eyes widened. “Oh!” He pointed to a girl with long white hair. “So, that girl’s Water...” Then the one that looked like Rialle. “Earth.” A short-haired woman with a harsh expression. “Fire.” Another girl with long hair and a kind of ditzy expression. “Wind?” I nodded, then pointed to a girl that looked like Bela.

“She’s Light and Sound.” I didn’t mention that we’d added that after playing Tales of the Abyss, just pointed to a black-haired woman with violet eyes. “Shadow and Mind.” A girl who looked kinda like a brown-haired Natalia. “Spirit and Luna.” A woman who looked an awful lot like me, except with copper-streaked gold hair, rather than my orange-ish. “Space and Time.”

Luke gave me a curious look. “What are the other four elements? You mentioned Water and Ice...”

“Earth and Metal, Fire and Dragon, and Wind and Lightning.”

Luke hummed and sat down to watch me finish the drawing.

Jade was the next one up, followed by Tear, then Seth, then Flick, and Ion. I looked up and raised an eyebrow.

“So who ended up sharing with whom? I know I’m in the same room as Asch...”

“I ended up sharing with Dark,” Luke said, apparently having decided that watching me color in my picture was the most interesting thing he could have possibly been doing. Jade sighed.

“I shared with Anise,” he said, not sounding amused.

“Natalia,” Tear said simply, sitting down across from me. Seth and Flick found a couch and took it.

“I was with Miyagi. Seth got dumped with Ion, which leaves Guy and Selenia. Yeowch. Doubt Guy appreciated that,” Flick said. I smirked a bit, then frowned.

“What about the monsters?”

“All three of them were in our room,” Luke said. “I had Mieu sleeping on my head when I woke up and I tripped over Twilight trying to get to the bathroom this morning.”

I laughed at that one. “Nice...”

Ion finally stopped staring at me and walked over to look at the open sketchbook in my hands. He frowned upon seeing the drawing.

“Isn’t that brunette Rialle?” he asked. I hesitated a moment before shrugging.

“Eh. I wasn’t really paying attention,” I lied. “If it looks like her, it’s probably because I just met her sister.”

“She has a sister?” Seth asked. I smiled.

“An older fraternal twin sister, to be exact. Who works here on the cleaning staff.”

“That’s disturbing,” Jade admitted. I shrugged. It was Bela. I’d learned long ago to stop questioning Bela. Rialle doing strange things could be questioned without threat to one’s mental health. Bela? Nope.

I sighed, deciding that I was done for the time being. Well, it wasn’t like the whole picture wasn’t colored in. I just wasn’t done with the shading yet. I stood up, wandering off toward the room I’d slept in.

“Now what are you doing?” Luke asked. I shrugged.

“Rialle gave us something while we were in Daath. It ended up in my wing pack. I thought now would be a good time to look at it,” I said. Well, that wasn’t completely the truth, but... oh well.

I’d managed to get the book without waking Asch up and was just heading back when Natalia stepped out of her room. Well. It took me a moment to realize it was Natalia. But once I’d placed that blonde hair, I smiled.

“Good morning.”

Natalia squeaked, turned to look at me, and then dashed back into her room. I frowned, sighing and stepping over to the door to knock on it. “Natalia?”

“I’m changing back out of it!” her high voice came from the other side of the door. I rolled my eyes.

“You looked fine. Stunning, really.”

There was no response for a moment. Then she opened the door a little. “You’re not just joking with me, are you?”

I smirked, pushing the door a little more open and looking over the outfit again. It had definitely been Noir’s idea. It was a short dress, with off-the-shoulder long, loose sleeves. Sea green ribbon had been stitched as lining along the edges, including the diamond-shaped cut-out that framed her belly button. White frost designs seemed to reach up from the ends of the sleeves and the hem of the dress. White stockings and simple sea-green mid-calf-high boots finished it off...

The thing that was probably driving Natalia nuts was the fact that one side of the dress stopped just above mid-thigh, and while the other dipped nearly to her knee, that side had a split all the way up to her hip.

I smiled and nodded. No, it wasn’t very suitable for a princess, but it really was a good look for her. “You look beautiful, Natalia. Come on. I’m taking this to Jade,” I said, holding up the book in my hands. “It’s in Ancient Ispanian. I can’t read it.”

She nodded and followed me. By this point, it seemed that Anise, Dark, and Guy had seen fit to get up. Anise and Dark were the first two to notice what Natalia was wearing, and while the latter’s expression was definitely amusing, Anise’s comment a moment later distracted me.

“Whoa, Natalia! Oh man, I wish I had a dress like that!”

Natalia squeaked behind me, and I grinned. “Sorry, Anise. You’re a bit young to be wearing cocktail dresses yet.” Anise made a face, and I stepped over to Jade, handing over the book. “Here. I didn’t realize this was in Ancient Ispanian.”

Jade finally managed to tear his eyes away from the girl behind me, and he nodded smartly as if I _hadn’t_ just subtly spared him the humiliation of Anise catching him staring.

“Dark...? Do you not like it...?”

Dark’s mouth finally snapped shut, and he stood rather abruptly and walked out. I was caught somewhere between laughing at the poor guy and going after him.

“Don’t worry, Natalia. You just caught him off-guard,” Jade said.

*She certainly got _you_ off guard.*

*Shush.*

*Maybe I should talk York into making one in purple for Cantabile?*

*Kairi...*

I laughed, turning and heading after Dark, heedless of my bare feet.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Natalia's new dress is somewhat based on Norma's from Tales of Legendia._


	74. Chapter 8.1 - Syncopation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I'd forgotten this chapter got named after Sync. Sort of.

_“Where are your shoes?” –Dark_

_“Is this my fault for waking you up half an hour early?” –Asch_

* * *

 

I stopped and leaned against the wall, standing there for many minutes before deciding it would be a good idea to speak up. “You okay?” I asked. Dark hadn’t made it very far from the inn. Only just around the corner and into the nearest alley.

He looked up at me for barely a moment before letting his head fall back down to his knees. “I shouldn’t be feeling like this.”

I sighed silently. Of course. Count on Dark to run away from his feelings. Asch turns his into anger, I bottle it all up, Sync barely even has names for half of what he feels. Not one of us can have healthy means of coping. That would be too easy.

“And why not?” I asked. Dark’s head poked up again just long enough for me to catch sight of the look on his face. I rolled my eyes. “Come on, work with me here. I, personally, think you’re overreacting, and I’m trying to play Devil’s Advocate to prove it.”

Dark grumbled something that probably wasn’t flattering. “She’s my boss!”

I crossed my arms. “She’s not the princess. She doesn’t have the money to pay you anymore, ergo, argument invalid. Try again?” Dark glared at me.

“She’s engaged to Asch... or Luke...” he stopped here and made a face, and I laughed. He gave me a baffled look, and I shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not sure what’s going to happen there either,” I admitted. “Let’s just assume that it’s Asch, since he’s the one who proposed to her.” I paused a moment. “And that’s still assuming that _she_ still wants to marry him.”

Dark snorted. “I’ve seen how ridiculous she could get with Luke, trying to get him to remember the proposal.”

I crossed my arms. “Yes. Back before she found out exactly who Asch was.”

Dark leveled another glare on me. “I hate you.”

I smirked. “Devil’s Advocate,” I reminded him. He growled something and stood, running a hand through his hair and turning to walk toward me. He froze suddenly, staring at the ground.

“Where are your shoes?”

I blinked and looked down. Oh. “Heh... Whoops.”

“Dork,” Dark muttered. “Come on. Let’s get back to the inn before you step on something.”

I shrugged. “Eh. I don’t really care. But really, Dark. You should at least find some way to tell Natalia you’re interested.”

The former assassin sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as we started walking. Where to, I wasn’t sure, nor did I care. I was going to trust Dark to get us back to the inn... eventually.

“Oh, I need to tell Natalia? What about you?” he asked, obviously a bit exasperated. I frowned. I knew what he was talking about.

“I’ve got a few things to figure out before I can do anything,” I said. “You know I’m from another world. Asch knows I’m from another world. And... I don’t know, Dark. I want to stay here, it’s just... I don’t know if I even _can_. Can my doppelganger body stand up to that? It barely survived replication. I just...” I trailed off, sighed, and shook my head. “There are too many unknown factors for me to just jump in. You don’t have to deal with that.”

Dark didn’t reply for a bit. Quite a bit. It must have been almost half an hour later when he finally spoke again.

“I’m sorry.”

I sighed. “What are you apologizing for?”

He wouldn’t look at me. “You’ve got a lot on your plate already. I doubt I’ve helped much, bringing up Asch like that.”

I stared at him a moment before smiling and shaking my head. “You’re silly,” I said. I stopped and started looking around. “You know how to get to the inn from here, right?”

Dark looked at me, then chuckled. “You’re hopeless,” he muttered, walking off again. I started following him. Although, somehow, we’d managed to put the Governor’s Mansion between us and the inn. It certainly wasn’t right next door like in the game, but we’d managed to wander around so we would have to walk past it to get back.

Probably a good thing, since I spotted Spinoza standing on the top step, ear pressed to the door. I frowned. “Dark...”

He looked up, noting the old man, and glanced at me, hands going to his thighs for his guns... only to find that they weren’t there. I scowled, letting Silver Clematis flash into my hand as I walked up toward Spinoza. If he was here, that meant Jade and the others were inside talking to Viridian, Henken, and Cathy. It had been long enough, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that really was the case. Either way, snooping around at the Governor’s Mansion is suspicious enough activity to warrant an inquiry.

Spinoza glanced back, spotted me, and made a break for it. I moved to cut him off, only for a sharp, jabbing pain to shoot up my foot. I hissed, hitting the ground as Spinoza ran past, and glanced down at my foot. I moved so I could look at the bottom, which was already bleeding pretty hard. A piece of glass was lodged there in the bridge of my foot, and I made a face, because it really, really hurt. And it didn’t look pretty, either.

“Kairi?!”

I looked up and forced a laugh. “Hi. I forgot my shoes earlier.”

Asch face-palmed. “Is this my fault for waking you up half an hour early?”

I didn’t have to force the next laugh. “No. I just kinda spaced,” I admitted, before looking at my foot, making a face, and then pulling the big piece of glass out. Then I started in with the Energies. I used those to get rid of the smaller pieces that had gotten detached from the big piece.

“Do I even want to know why you’re running around barefoot?”

I paused, looked up, blinked a couple of times, and then went back to healing. “I decided to follow Dark out and didn’t initially realize I’d forgotten to put shoes on,” I admitted.

“Hey, why was Spinoza running off, anyway?” Luke asked. I glanced up, finding the sight of Asch, Duke Fabre, and Luke standing in a line somewhat amusing before my eyes were drawn back to my foot again.

“He was listening in. If whatever was being discussed was something you don’t want getting out, I suggest going after him,” I said. The silence that followed was almost deafening.

“We’ve only got the Albiore. We can’t really split up three ways,” Asch commented.

I frowned and looked up again. “What? Why were we splitting up two ways already?”

Jade looked down at me and sighed. “Someone has to go get Sync. And Duke Fabre has asked for our assistance in fortifying Belkend.”

“You realize we’ve still got our carriage and amicaydras, yes?” Noir asked as she, York, and Urushi walked up with Noelle. She paused and smirked at Natalia. “And you look gorgeous, honey.”

The blonde turned a rather amusing shade of red, while Duke Fabre looked a bit confused. Asch sighed.

“That’s normal for Noir,” he said. He looked around. “Well, I guess we could spare someone from the team that’s going to go get Sync, but...”

“I’ll go with the Dark Wings to catch Spinoza,” Luke said. “I don’t think we should really put more than one or two extra people on that.”

Asch nodded. “Alright. We’ll leave Spinoza to the four of you, okay?” He turned to Noir at the last word, and she nodded, then looked at Luke.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Luke sighed. “Spinoza was headed for the exit to town. We’ll have to stop at the inn to pick up my equipment, but that’s it.” The four of them walked off, and Asch started looking around. He glanced at me, made a face, and sighed.

“Do you want to come with us to Daath and risk all hell breaking loose as usual, or would you rather stay with Father and Jade?” he asked.

I frowned and thought about it, absent-mindedly letting Energies heal my foot. Now that the glass was gone, this part was just routine.

“I think I’ll come to Daath with you.”

Jade crossed his arms. “We were planning on only sending four or five to Daath. Who do you want to go with you?”

I looked around. If I was right, then this would be the trip where Guy remembered _why_ he was terrified of women. So, he had to come... But then, so did Anise, if we were going to talk to Pamela.

“Do you mind if I come along?” Natalia asked. Dark shot me a look, and I sighed. If Natalia came, Dark was going to want to come, and that was my five. So, unless I could talk Jade into letting Anise come with us...

Nope. I don’t think that’s going to work. Fine. Not like things aren’t already screwed up. I’ll tell Guy myself if it comes to it.

“Guy, Dark, Natalia, me, and Asch. We’ll go get Sync,” I said, finally deeming my foot healed enough to stand on. Of course, then my knee decided to give out. I growled as I hit the ground a second time, and Dark hung his head, Twilight and Sorylle both making exasperated noises.

“Well. I can’t say _I_ haven’t called Danté that before,” Dark muttered. I scowled, sitting once again to stabilize my knee and try to stand again.

This time, the fire was in my torso, and I growled something else, gritting my teeth and ignoring it as well as I could in favor of stalking off toward the inn.

“Kairi? Do you want me to go get more—“

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve got almost half a bottle in my bag,” I called back to Asch. I’m sure I heard him muttering something along the lines of ‘why aren’t you using it’ before I was out of earshot.

Asch and the others I’d named off found me at the inn ten minutes later, once again dressed in the new outfit I’d gotten from Peony. The cleaning staff had attacked our laundry about the same time Dark and I had left.

I was standing against a wall, practically tapping my—now shoed—foot as the four of them walked in. Natalia headed for her room, probably planning on changing out of that dress, if Dark’s comments that she looked good in it were any indication. Asch, Guy, and Dark were headed to change clothes too, it seemed, since we’d all been wearing rather more casual things.

I raised an eyebrow when Natalia came back out, still wearing the dress Noir had asked York to make. Her quiver was in place, bow unstrung on her back as well. Her usual bag had been replaced by a smaller, brown leather pouch. I noted that the whole ensemble was rather similar to Norma’s outfit in Tales of Legendia, though it was definitely different enough that you wouldn’t notice it right off.

“Those sleeves won’t get in the way?” I asked, nodding to the wide hems. Natalia shook her head.

“No. The ribbon stitched around the edges hides whatever York added to weight them down. The hems are heavy enough that, with my fighting style, I won’t have any problems. My bowstring goes _over_ my arm, after all,” she said, demonstrating. Sure enough, gravity kept her sleeves out of the way of where her bowstring would be.

I nodded, then smiled at Asch and Dark as they came back out. Guy was the last, but not by much, and the five of us headed for the port.

“Noelle’s waiting there with the Albiore,” Asch had said before anyone could question where we were going.

Which was probably a good thing, because it meant I didn’t have to explain myself. I’d gone ahead and dosed myself up with morphine again, which meant I wasn’t completely thinking straight.

Sorylle and Twilight padded along behind us, apparently having decided that no, they did not want to stay in Belkend and wait for us. Once onboard the Albiore things became rather routine. Sit, read for a bit, draw for a bit, move, read for a while more... Not much was said out loud. Asch handed out sandwiches at one point, and Dark pulled Asch back into the cabins area for a conversation none of the rest of us were privy to, but beyond that, the trip was rather silent.

Of course, once we got to Daath, or at least, the outskirts of the city, things got a bit more interesting... and not necessarily in a good way.

A loud, almost-familiar growl rang out, and judging from the way Dark had drawn his guns, my initial guess was right. I turned, spotting Kallig immediately. Behind him were two southern ligers, and in front of all three...

“What?! What are they doing here?” Guy asked. I scowled. Danté, like his replica, had his guns drawn. Except, one gun was visible in its holster on his thigh. So, one was loaded with proper ammunition.

“Van sent us to get Ion,” Arietta said. “You people are here for Ion too, aren’t you?!”

I sighed, drawing my katana and settling into a defensive stance. “No.”

Danté snorted. “I don’t believe that in the...” he paused, eyes widening. “Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Arietta blinked and looked up at Danté in shock. Danté just looked pissed off now. “It’s Sync, isn’t it? Ion’s back in Belkend with the rest of your little troupe! It’s Sync playing Fon Master here in Daath, isn’t it?!”

Arietta looked at the rest of us, now thoroughly pissed off herself, though it seemed to be focused more at Danté than the rest of us. “That can’t be right! I heard Sync was one of the people fighting to get Natalia out of Baticul! He killed almost a dozen soldiers! That couldn’t have been Ion!”

I gave the others a pointed look before looking back at Arietta. “It wasn’t. Sync wasn’t the only replica,” I said. “We left the _real_ Ion somewhere safe.” I felt Asch’s mind reaching out for mine and reluctantly connected everyone in our group. *What?* I grumbled mentally.

*Florian?* Asch asked. I sent along a general agreement.

“Where is he now, then?” Danté asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Hell if I know. We sent Luke and the Dark Wings to move him before he got caught while we came to get Sync.”

Danté growled, and Dark shot something back.

Then one gun came up, aimed for Natalia, and Danté’s finger tightened on the trigger, his irritation with us and his replica finally forcing a release.

Natalia froze, but Dark certainly didn’t. He _moved_.

Right into Danté’s line of fire, just as his original fired.

Danté turned and left, dragging Arietta and the ligers with him.

I raced to stop the bleeding.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_** _Do you know? I didn’t plan this._ Danté _didn’t plan this. Dark planned it. Why? ...It’s relevant to a scene that comes up fairly late in Book 2 of the Lights Trilogy._


	75. Chapter 8.2 - Syncopation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoot! Finally got all of Chapter 8 edited and ready to post~
> 
> (Yeah, I uploaded the rough docs to FFnet and went from there, so it's taking me longer now.)

_“How...? No, never mind.” –Luke_

* * *

 

“Dark!”

I ignored Natalia, putting pressure on the wound. Chest. Left side.

Dammit!

I didn’t even bother to be my usual, careful self. I just started pumping earth Energies into the wound. If nothing else, it would stop the bleeding.

“Kairi, wait!”

Asch put his hands over mine and, once he was sure I’d stopped, he put two fingers to Dark’s neck. The replica was unconscious. I refused to believe that Danté could have finally succeeded. Asch frowned, fingers pressed to where the vein should be. It wasn’t a sad frown, either. It was one of confusion. He moved one of my hands, and started at the still-seeping bullet wound.

“This shouldn’t be possible...” he murmured. I frowned, but Guy was the one to speak up.

“Asch?”

“That bullet went right through his heart... He shouldn’t be alive, but he is...” Asch continued, still talking more to himself than the rest of us. I frowned, placing one hand back over the bullet wound, and the other next to it, over the other side of his chest.

A fast but steady thu-thump under my left hand told me all that I needed to know.

“Situs inversus...” I muttered. Of course, one of the few things that had caught my attention in biology.

“What?” Asch looked at me like I was crazy. I frowned.

“Run a Scan over him. If I’m right, all of his internal organs should be reversed,” I said. Asch was still looking at me like I was crazy, but he muttered the fonic verse anyway and started looking Dark over.

The further he moved along, the wider his eyes got, until his concentration faltered and he looked at me. “How...?”

I shrugged. “It’s a genetic defect that’s pretty much impossible to detect because there aren’t any ill effects. The chances of having it is one in ten thousand, if I remember correctly.”

Asch took a few deep breaths before muttering something that certainly didn’t sound like English. Oh, sorry. The _Fonic Language_. Bleh.

“Lucky, gods-damned bastard,” he finished. I raised an eyebrow. When did he start in with the whole ‘gods’ thing? Last I checked, he was still cursing like every other native of Auldrant.

Must just be the stunt Dark pulled.

Asch and I got to work cleaning up the mess I’d made forcing a stop to the bleeding, and once we’d done all that we could there on the road, Asch picked him up and we headed for Daath Cathedral. We were, thankfully, mostly ignored as we made our way through the crowds. Lunaday crowds weren’t nearly as bad as those on Remday, but they were still crowds, which was irritating.

Once inside the cathedral, Asch looked around. “Well? Do we dare take him up to my old room? Or does one of you know how to activate the fonic glyph up to Ion’s rooms?” he asked. I frowned, wondering if I should risk blowing it to Natalia and Guy.

“I can get you guys up to Sync if you want.”

I turned my head, blinked, and raised an eyebrow at Rialle. She was standing nearby, hands tucked behind her back, green eyes wide and innocent. I couldn’t help but smile.

 “Uh... and you are...?” Asch asked, definitely wary. Not surprising, since she’s revealed she knows the ‘Fon Master’ is actually Sync right now.

“Rialle DeSeto,” I answered for her. “She’s one of Ion’s Fon Master Guards... though she seems to have taken a liking to Sync.”

Rialle giggled, tapping the side of her head as she grinned. “I’m good at keeping things up here,” she said, glancing once at me before looking up at Asch. “Come on, we should get going before some sort of trouble finds us.”

I had the distinct feeling that was being directed at me.

We followed Rialle into the next room, then up to the top level of the cathedral. She glanced around then headed for Ion’s room. Once inside, I was practically tackled by Sync.

“You’re all okay?! Wait, what happened to Dark?!”

I grabbed Sync and held onto him before he could start jumping around us. “Dark got shot outside Daath. Danté and Arietta decided to come after you, but when they realized it was you here, and not Ion, they turned around.”

“Not before shooting Dark, obviously,” Sync muttered. “What exactly happened before? Mohs wouldn’t tell me exactly what was going on.”

I glanced back at Asch. “Can we borrow the bed? I’ll explain everything, once Asch has a chance to put Dark down.”

Sync nodded, and I released him. We headed into Ion’s bedroom, and while Dark was placed on the bed, I turned to Sync.

“So, you know how we split up on our way out of the library?” Sync nodded. “The first group, my group, got away. Jade, Luke, Natalia, Tear, Anise, Guy, and Dark got caught.”

From there, I continued to detail what had happened since our meeting over a week previous. Sync listened, only cutting in when I told him about Florian.

I sighed as I glanced over at Dark, wondering if he was going to speak up or not as I came to a close. “Danté and Arietta were here for you, but when they found out you weren’t Ion, Danté aimed for Natalia and fired. Dark jumped into the line of fire,” I said. Natalia put her hands over her heart.

“Why...? Why is everyone so insistent on helping me? I’m not even the real princess...” she mumbled.

“Princess or not...” Everyone’s eyes turned to Dark as he spoke. “If I was able to protect one of my friends, I have no regrets.”

Guy gasped, eyes glazed over, and my eyes widened slightly as well.

Even though it was all so different... Dark had still triggered Guy’s memory.

“Dark! No, you shouldn’t be moving!” Natalia cried, running over and placing her hands against his shoulders, keeping him pinned to the bed. I smiled at the sight, then glanced at Asch. He looked thoughtful, the expression on his face struggling between a smile and a frown. I poked him, physically rather than mentally for once.

He jumped a bit at the contact and looked at me, noted the smile I wore, and forced a small smirk in return.

“I remember...” Guy muttered. I glanced over my shoulder, looked at Asch, and then shoved my thumb back toward Guy. Asch nodded, walking over to Guy and lifting him back to his feet, guiding him down to the cathedral. I looked over at Sync, and raised an eyebrow as he wandered over to the closet. He glanced back, noticed me watching, and turned a bright red. I grinned, turning away from him and stepping over to Dark and Natalia.

I leaned over, placing a hand over the wound and feeling around with Energies. I smiled slightly as I probed it. “Good news is, you’ll be back on your feet before Jade,” I said.

“Wait, what happened to Jade?” Sync asked. I resisted the urge to turn and look at him, and stopped Natalia from looking as well.

“It seems that Zion supplied Mohs with a rather ingenious toxin,” I said. “It had to have been designed by Rhunön. She’s the only one that could have even possibly made a poison capable of dissolving the Energy barriers around a person’s fonslots. Without those Energy barriers, Jade’s fonslots are now utterly inexistent... and between that, and the contaminated seventh fonons still lingering in his body after altering the Zao Ruins passage ring, he was in a lot of physical pain when we found him.”

“Clear,” Sync commented. “But how is that even possible?”

I turned and raised an eyebrow, wondering where the new clothes had come from for a moment before brushing it aside. “Energies are tied to blood flow, they’re more physical than fonons. Honestly, the poison had already done its damage by the time I got to him, but... it could take weeks for me to rebuild his fonslots from scratch.”

“I see...”

I turned and headed for the door. “I’m going to go check on Guy. Dark, you should be okay enough for Sorylle or Twilight to carry you.”

I didn’t bother to see if he and Natalia were following. I know Sorylle wasn’t. I could hear her and Dark growling to each other. Twilight padded along behind me, and we headed back down.

As I’d predicted, Guy and Asch were in the cathedral, Asch seemingly standing watch over Guy much as Jade had during this part of the game. I walked up to them quietly and stood nearby, putting my weight on my left leg.

Sync was the next one to join us, and Asch crossed his arms, then made a signal to me.

*Where did those come from?* Asch asked as soon as I’d built a connection between the three of us. Sync shrugged.

*Rialle made them... More for Ion than for me. I kinda want my clothes back, anyway,* he said. I nodded. That made sense. Especially given that it wasn’t really Sync’s style.

I mean, Sync prefers loose pants, not skin-tight. And that coat was pretty much a rip-off of Luke’s old coat. I hadn’t looked at the back yet, but I wouldn’t have been too surprised if there was the same black monster face there.

I made a twirling motion, and Sync rolled his eyes before obliging.

Sync was wearing a dull green turtleneck, and dark green boots. The pants were a light gray, while the coat was white with gold lining. Where Luke’s coat had been red on the underside, this one was green.

Aside from that, and the golden tuning fork in place of the black monster face, the coat was identical to the one Luke used to wear.

Guy stood up then and turned around, looking past me. I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, Dark, Natalia, and Sorylle were joining us.

“Guy, are you alright? You said you... remembered?” Natalia asked. Guy took a deep breath.

“Yeah... Do you mind if I wait to explain until the others are here, though? I... I’d really rather only go into this once,” he said. I nodded.

“That’s fine. We’ve got Sync. Now we have to go get the device from Henken and Cathy and head for a sephiroth,” I said. Asch frowned.

“It has to be one we haven’t already lowered, so Shurrey Hill and the Zao Ruins are out of the question. The two Gates aren’t a great idea either,” he said. I smirked.

“Meggiora Highlands, then. Mt. Roneal, Mt. Zaleho, and Tataroo Valley have been safely removed from Van’s grip. Meggiora Highlands is the only one we haven’t done that for now.”

We all started walking, none of us in any kind of a hurry. Not really, at least. Especially not with Dark wounded.

We were in the lobby when Asch stopped, making a pained face and raising his hand to massage his forehead. I connected everyone so Asch wouldn’t have to repeat Luke’s words.

*Spinoza made it to Van. I’d have contacted you sooner, but we were busy getting Henken and Cathy out. Van managed to get past Father before he was finished setting everything up,* Luke said.

Asch huffed. *Great... Where are you guys taking them?*

*Sheridan. It’s closest, and the device wasn’t done yet, so we figured they’d be able to find the tools they need there,* Luke said. *Also, Jade and the others want to be picked up as soon as possible. They’ve almost got everything set.*

I nodded. *Alright. We’ll send Noelle to get them while we’re in the Meggiora Highlands.* I was silent a moment. *Do you mind coming with us when we do that, Luke? We’ll have to leave Dark in town, and I’m getting the feeling Sorylle’s going to want to stay with him.*

*Yes,* came Sorylle’s blunt response.

*Alright. I’ll see you guys in Sheridan.* It was a not-so-subtle hint for me to pull away from him before Luke cut the connection. I dropped the others as well, and we started walking again without a word.

Aside from Natalia and Asch telling Sync exactly what our two groups had been doing since the split-up in Chesedonia—and Sync bothering me about what being stuck with Luke, Zion, and Van was like—the trip to Sheridan was... Boring, to say the least.

Luke and the Dark Wings met us just inside town, and Luke made a face as we approached. I raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I like the Dark Wings. But do we really have to go deal with the old men?” he asked. “We literally just got rid of them...”

I blinked a few times before giggling. Guy looked just about as amused as I did.

“You can stay here if you want. Or better yet, go with Dark and Sorylle to the inn,” I said, still smiling. “We’ll go get the frequency counter.”

Luke nodded, gratefully, then gave Sync a curious look. “Uh...”

Sync looked down at his clothes, looked back up at Luke, and crossed his arms. “Don’t ask me. Rialle made them for Ion.”

Luke decided to shrug it off. He left with Sorylle and the currently asleep Dark, while Noir, York, and Urushi stayed behind for a moment. York looked at me expectantly, and after a moment of shuffling through my bag, I handed over a few pieces of paper, kept purposefully upside-down so the others wouldn’t see the drawings on them. York took it, looked through them, and grinned before looking up at me.

“You are really good at this,” he said simply before walking away. Urushi chuckled.

“Maybe we should do this more often. It certainly makes York happy,” he said. Noir seemed just as amused.

“I’ll consider it. In the meantime...” She turned back to us. “You should probably be going.”

I nodded and led the rest of our group to the meeting hall. Sure enough, Tamara and Kathy were standing around outside. Tamara glanced over and blinked.

“Wasn’t my granddaughter with you last time?”

I stopped, tilted my head to the side, and looked at the others in confusion. Sync chuckled. “Selenia,” he said simply. He looked back at the elderly lady. “She’s in Belkend. Noelle’s gone to get the people we left there.”

Tamara nodded. “I see. The frequency counter’s ready, but... well...”

“You’ll have to get the men to stop arguing to get it,” Cathy admitted. “Which is why we’re out here.”

I nodded, made a motion for the others to stay put, and walked in. Sure enough, Henken, Aston, and Iemon were well into it.

Me, I just grabbed the frequency counter and slipped out the back.

“How...? No, never mind.”

I just laughed at Luke.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _...You know, I’m honestly not sure why Jade’s fonslots had to get screwed up again. But it gives Jade an excuse to slack off a bit for a couple more chapters._


	76. Chapter 8.3 - Syncopation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 is really short, by the way.

_“You people are sidetracking us.” –Kairi_

* * *

 

Travelling with Sync again after so long of Ion was an interesting but comforting experience. While he was just a little out of shape, it seemed that Rialle and Cantabile had managed to keep his skills from getting too dull.

We walked back into Sheridan just in time to catch sight of a familiar shade of green. I grinned.

“Ion!”

The replica turned and grinned when he saw us, running back toward us. “You’re all okay! You know, Iemon was really annoyed with you guys,” he said. I just laughed.

“That’s what they get for arguing over very pointless topics. Now then, is everyone at the inn?” I asked. Ion nodded, then finally noticed what Sync was wearing. The look Sync was giving him said, quite plainly, ‘you are giving me _my_ coat back as soon as we get there.’

“I’ll go take the frequency counter to the meeting hall,” I said. “Meet you guys at the inn.”

They nodded and started to walk off, and I headed for the meeting hall. All five of the old people were there, and they looked up as I walked in.

“Who are you?” Iemon asked.

“Iemon! That’s no way to treat a nice young lady!” Aston said. I grinned and held up the frequency counter.

“Even though I’m the one who snagged this while you boys were arguing?”

Henken and Aston looked amused, while Iemon snorted and crossed his arms. “What I want to know is how you managed to slip around us,” he grumbled. I grinned, walked over to one of the potted plants to the left, and climbed up to the main level silently. I put the frequency counter on the table exactly where it had been when I’d picked it up, headed up the stairs on the other side of the room, and slipped out through the pipe on the second level.

Surprised grunts met my choice of escape route, but I was spat out next to the inn before any of them could come after me.

Jade was waiting outside, and he jumped as the plate over the door opened. He looked at me like I was crazy, and I just smiled back. With a resigned sigh and a small shrug, he turned and headed into the inn, leading me to where the others were waiting.

“Oh good, you two are back,” Guy said. Anise raised an eyebrow.

“That was fast.”

I grinned. “The meeting hall has a back door. So, were we doing something?”

It took everyone a moment to get settled, most of them looking toward Guy. Ah, right. He remembered.

Guy took a deep breath. “You all remember that there’s a part of my memory that was missing, right?” Most people nodded. “While we were in Daath... I remembered. And... I know some of you already know this, but... There’s something I’ve been hiding for a long time now. My full name... My _real_ name... is Gailardia Galan Gardios.”

A few people looked shocked. Jade looked surprised that Guy had decided to tell everyone about it now, but aside from that the reactions were pretty anti-climactic. Guy took a deep breath.

“Sixteen years ago, Duke Fabre led an attack on Hod. He murdered my entire family, and laughed as he did it. The thing is... I never could remember my sister dying. That was the part of my memory that was missing. And I was right. The cause of my phobia did lie there,” he continued. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath. “My sister, all of the maids... They died to protect me. I was buried under their bodies... By the time Pere pulled me out, my memory was already gone. Heh. I’m pathetic. They gave their lives for me, and I just remember them as ‘scary’.”

Luke crossed his arms. “Don’t talk like that, Guy!”

All eyes turned to Luke.

“You do realize this means he likely entered Duke Fabre’s service with the intention of getting revenge, don’t you?” Jade asked. Luke sighed.

“Yeah. But... Guy’s come through for me time and time again. Even after what I did at Akzeriuth. He’s given me his trust. The least I can do is return it.”

Guy scratched the back of his head. “Luke... Thanks.”

Asch crossed his arms. “You know why I’m not saying the same thing he is. But... I’m willing to trust you too.”

Of course, after that, a nice round of apologies came around from most of the girls in the group for teasing Guy about his phobia. I didn’t apologize. I know the only time I’d sent Guy scrambling away from me was in the factory, when I was too preoccupied with my own phobia to notice how close he was.

Then, once Guy’s spiel was done, he sighed and looked over at Luke. “Are you gonna speak up, or not?”

Luke looked uncomfortable. “I know we’re planning to stop the vibration in the core so we can lower the rest of the Outer Lands without worrying about them liquefying, but... Is it really right to lower the lands without permission?”

I crossed my arms. “I get it. You want to talk to Peony and King Ingobert about arranging a peace conference.”

“You are a lot less formal with the Emperor than you are with Uncle,” Asch noted. I smacked him upside the head for his effort.

“Given the way the Emperor acts around my family in general, he might as well just be another big brother as far as she’s concerned,” Jade said. He got smacked too.

“You people are sidetracking us,” I announced. Many of us laughed.

“Iemon said it would take about three weeks to get the Tartarus ready for the trip to the core,” Guy said. “I don’t think it’d be too much of a problem to go visit the two rulers, but we’d need to pick someplace to hold a conference.”

“We probably shouldn’t go to Daath,” Ion and Sync said. The two exchanged looks, and for the first time, I realized that they’d already switched clothes. “Fon Master or no, Mohs is the one in charge there,” Sync continued.

“Chesedonia and Yulia City, the next best options, are both in the Qliphoth. Which means we’d have to restore the Albiore’s flight capabilities,” I said. Ion nodded.

“Yulia City is probably our best choice,” he agreed.

“Then it sounds like we’re going to have to go talk to Uncle...” Asch said quietly. Ion looked up at him.

“I’ve still got a set of my robes. If all else fails, I can threaten to remove Daath’s support from Kimlasca. That should at least get us an audience.”

Sync gave Ion an incredulous look, and the other replica turned an interesting shade of pink when he realized that his ‘brother’ was staring at him.

“Um...”

Eyes turned to Natalia, who fidgeted a bit. “Do you all mind if... if I take a while to think?”

Asch closed his eyes. “Alright. The rest of us need to double-check our supplies, anyway.”

Natalia breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

She left then, and I watched her go without a word.

The rest of us split up, after making sure our bags and wing packs were left where the people restocking could find them. Dark and Sorylle stayed at the inn, for obvious reasons. Guy wandered off with Luke, talking about swords. Ion went with Sync, telling him all about Florian, it seemed. Asch, Jade, and Seth stayed at the inn temporarily to deal with the restock.

Natalia had disappeared, and the Dark Wings were nowhere to be found. Tear, Flick, Anise, and Selenia wandered off in a flock, and I avoided them. Tear may have been something of a tomboy, but I was quite happy to not get involved with that particular crowd.

Twilight stood next to me as I wondered what to do, and I smiled at the liger, reaching over and running a hand through his mane. I frowned at all of the tangles I was encountering, and prodded him with my mind.

*Would you mind if I brushed you?* I asked. Twilight seemed confused, so I sent along a mental impression of me brushing my own hair. He seemed mildly surprised, but then seemed to shrug it off.

*Why not?*

I stepped over to the table where Asch was already counting out gald and picked up a few coins. He frowned, and I smiled.

“What? I like Twilight, but I’d rather not share a brush with him.”

Asch rolled his eyes and went back to counting, and I left, Twilight behind me. We stopped at a general store to get the brush, and then found someplace to sit near the cliff Sheridan was perched on. Twilight laid down, and I got to work, methodically attacking his mane first. It amused me when Twilight started purring after a few minutes.

I also kept track of how many baby ligers’ worth of fur I’d de-tangled.

It was relaxing, really. I think Twilight fell asleep after about half an hour. All I really know is that I finally finished with his mane as Luke and Guy walked up to us. Luke sat down next to me, Guy on the other side of the liger in front of me. Both of them were giving the mound of fur next to me some rather odd looks.

I raised an eyebrow, silently challenging them to comment on me brushing my liger.

Luke sighed, shook his head, and then looked at me, suddenly very serious. “Guy said... you know how to flush miasma out of your body?”

I blinked. Well, that hadn’t gone the way I’d expected it to. “Yes...”

“Can you do it for someone else?”

“Yes...”

Luke bit his lip, and I realized suddenly what he was getting at.

“How many?”

“Just Meggiora Highlands.”

I nodded, handed the brush to Guy, and closed my eyes. *Brace yourself. This’ll be painful,* I warned Luke. He just nodded, and I got to work. It really only took me about ten minutes. Unlike me, Luke had a relatively tiny amount of miasma in his body.

Once I was done, I went back to brushing Twilight. Luke ended up leaning over and curling up on his side. I didn’t blame him. At least I was used to it.

“He’s gonna be okay, right?” Guy asked. I nodded.

“It’s just really painful,” I said. Twilight shifted slightly, finally coming back around, and I smiled, pulling the brush away, removing the most recent mat of fur, and then went back to my brushing.

Twilight woke slowly, but after stretching and yawning, he finally spotted the mound of fur. I laughed at the way he stared at it.

He finally stood up and shook himself, and looked down at me in surprise. *Are you going to complain if I ask you to do that more often?*

I just threw my head back and laughed.

“Nope. Now then... Everybody want to move so I can get rid of this?” I gestured at the purple and silver pile nearby. Twilight and Guy moved away a bit, and I moved the fur over near the edge of the cliff.

Then I lit it on fire.

It took a little more work than it normally would, since western ligers had some immunity to fire, but once I was left with just ashes, I used a handy little wind trick to send the ashes into the water below.

“Nice,” Guy commented. “Very efficient.”

I smirked. “Yeah, I try.”

With the sun going down behind the high cliffs of Meggiora, it was quickly getting dark, so the four of us headed to the inn. Three beds to a room, and fourteen people, which meant one room was going to be a person short.

Asch met us out front. “Luke, Guy, you two are sharing with Seth,” he announced. “Kairi, you’re with Tear and Flick.”

I made a face. “Do I have to...?”

He sighed. “Your other option is me and Jade.”

“I’m bunking with you two.”

Guy gave me an odd look. “What’s wrong with Tear and Flick?” he asked. I gave him a look.

“Nothing, when they haven’t been running around town with Anise and Selenia all afternoon.” And they had. I hadn’t really been paying much attention to what they’d been doing, but I’d had a telepathic field down all day so I could locate everyone if I needed to. Also, it helped me with forcing my range to expand again.

Asch just rolled his eyes and headed back inside. Twilight and I followed him, and while Jade raised an eyebrow at our intrusion, he didn’t bother to question me as I curled up in the third bed.

After dumping a few bags on the ground, that is.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I glanced over my shoulder. Asch? That was strange. He wasn’t usually up early enough to see the sun rise.

He stopped next to me, and I realized suddenly that this was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be Natalia here, not me. It was wrong... But it felt right.

The two of us were quiet for a time. The bottom edge of the sun was barely still hidden when Asch spoke.

“Some day, when we’re grown up, let’s change this country. Change it so that no one has to be poor. Change it so that war never happens. Let’s work to change our country, for the rest of our lives. Together.”

His voice was soft, and it sounded more like he was lost in a memory than anything else. I choose not to speak. Asch sighed, letting his head drop. “I didn’t say that because she was a princess. But... I can’t help but feel like I was a fool. Not for wanting to fix things. For thinking that I was the best choice to help her.”

I frowned. “She still loves you.”

“Natalia’s heart is torn. And... so is mine,” Asch admitted.

Something welled up in my throat, and I turned my head slightly to look at him. Asch sighed, doing the same. His eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t help but turn away.

This wasn’t my world.

This wasn’t my real body.

“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Asch turned to leave, and rather than thinking it through, I just reacted.

Of course, as soon as we pulled apart I realized what I’d just done, and I turned and ran. I needed time to think, and Asch wasn’t helping that at all.

I stopped after slipping into a small alcove behind the meeting hall and raised a hand to my lips. Nathan, Damon, Chris...

None of them made me feel the way I did when I kissed Asch.

I sat down and buried my head in my arms. It was official.

I had fallen in love, and I still didn’t even know if I would be able to stay on Auldrant.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _And while we’re on the subject of uncooperative characters... I wasn’t going to do this. I really wasn’t. It was going to be Asch and Natalia and a really strange conversation that ended with Natalia finally accepting that Asch didn’t really love her anymore._

_Then Dark and Danté and the shit with Natalia getting replicated happened, and Asch decided we needed to do_ this _instead. -dies-_


	77. Chapter 8.4 - Syncopation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now on to Chapter 9. (See? Told you 8 was short.)

_I wasn’t exactly the first person in our group that someone would point to for being an eavesdropper. –Jade_

_*Eh... hehe... Spirit Energy.* –Kairi_

* * *

**Jade’s POV**

I sighed and pulled on my coat. Kairi was already awake. That was to be expected, honestly. But for Asch to be awake before the sunrise meant something was wrong.

I stepped out of the room, still putting my gloves on, and noticed something odd.

Now, Anise, I can image eavesdropping, not to mention Sync or Selenia. Natalia, on the other hand...

I walked over to her as quietly as I could manage, and just as I was about to make a comment, I noticed just _who_ Natalia was eavesdropping on.

“Some day, when we’re grown up, let’s change this country. Change it so that no one has to be poor. Change it so that war never happens. Let’s work to change our country, for the rest of our lives. Together.” Asch’s voice barely reached us, but if the strange semi-whimper that escaped Natalia was any indication, his words were exactly what I thought they were.

His proposal to her.

Asch’s head dropped. “I didn’t say that because she was a princess,” he said. “But... I can’t help but feel like I was a fool.” I adjusted my glasses. “Not for wanting to fix things,” Asch added quickly. “For thinking that I was best choice to help her.”

“She still loves you,” Kairi said after a few moments.

“Natalia’s heart is torn,” Asch replied. “And... so is mine.”

Natalia’s head bowed, and that was the only warning I received before she backed into me. My hand shot out and covered her mouth.

“Quiet!” I hissed. Hazel eyes blinked up at me in surprise, and it was no wonder. I wasn’t exactly the first person in our group that someone would point to for being an eavesdropper.

Actually, I don’t think I was in the top half of that list.

“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Natalia and I both looked back at Asch and Kairi, and watched as Asch turned to leave.

Kairi didn’t even seem to be thinking. Her hand snagged his sleeve, and she pulled him back, capturing his lips in a kiss.

The two pulled apart slowly, both seemingly rattled, and then Kairi ran. Asch watched her go with wide eyes, before he scrunched up his face and started muttering. Probably cursing himself for pushing her.

Natalia moved to step forward, paused, and then looked back. Not at me, but past me. Back toward the inn.

Back toward where Dark was.

She walked past me, heading back to the inn, and I looked out at the observation platform again. Asch stood there, running a hand through his hair. I considered playing the part of the over-protective older brother and confronting him, but that would mean admitting to eavesdropping. I wasn’t quite ready to do that yet, so I walked past him as if I hadn’t seen a thing.

Aston was just entering the meeting hall when I walked past, and something caught in my mind.

“Aston, could I have a moment of your time?”

The mechanic paused and turned to look at me. “Sure. You need something?”

I shrugged. “It’s just something my sister came up with some time ago.” And wasn’t it amazing how easily I referred to Kairi as my sister these days? “We’re a large group, and more often than not, we’re needed in two places at once. You said the first time we were here that there were in fact two hoverdrives, yes?” Aston nodded. “Would it be possible to build a second Albiore? Well, a third, I suppose, since the first crashed.”

He looked thoughtful. “It certainly would be possible, but we’ll have to put it off until after the core operation.”

I nodded. That was a given. “Would you consider it, then? The Dark Wings can only take so many people with them. It’s rather dangerous, shortchanging the second group like that.”

Aston nodded. “I’ll talk Iemon and Tamara into it. We need something to keep us busy, after all.”

“Thank you.” I turned and left him to his business then, deciding to simply wander Sheridan until everyone else was awake. No use returning to an empty room, after all.

I hadn’t made it far before I spotted a pair of silver-gray boots poking out from behind a well. I frowned, then took a deep breath and stepped over to them.

“Are you alright?”

Shining green eyes looked up at me. Though she hadn’t started crying yet, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be long before the floodgates opened. She swallowed.

“You saw that, didn’t you?”

I forced myself not to react. I hadn’t noticed her field... Then again, it may simply have been the fact that I found her so soon afterwards that had tipped her off.

So I nodded.

Kairi let her head drop again, and I put a hand on her shoulder. “Asch didn’t mean to push you.”

She shook her head and looked up at me again. “That’s not it... I...” she stopped, closed her eyes, and then opened them again. “Sit down, and join me on the second plane. There’s... something I need to show you.”

I frowned, but reluctantly did as she’d asked. Well, demanded, really, but with the mental state she was in, I wasn’t going to complain about it. Having had a considerable amount of practice now, it was nothing to reach for my center and slip out of my body. At first, I’d found it strange that I was adapting so easily, but Asch had written it off as me having six spirit Energies.

Kairi’s spiritual form looked at me and opened her mouth, only for something to catch her eye. *Yeek! Mine!*

I’ll admit it. I was completely baffled when she rushed off around the corner. She came back just a moment later, but it still left me confused. Once she was near me again though, she seemed to realize the absurdity of what had just happened.

*Eh... hehe... Spirit Energy.*

Ah. That explained a lot.

Kairi sat down, and I raised an eyebrow when she gestured for me to join her. Just what was she up to...?

Energies flowed around us as Kairi closed her eyes. Earth, and moon.

And then everything shifted.

_Fingers danced across a keyboard, faster than I could be bothered to really track. I wanted to finish this. I had the motivation to do so, and I was going to do it._

_I reached over toward the corner of the tiny little table my laptop sat on, lifted the glass there, and huffed in frustration when I realized that it was empty._

_I took a moment to pause and read over what I’d been writing, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. For so long, I’d been without inspiration, and now that I had it... I nodded, appreciative of Rabecah’s spontaneous supplying of Monster Energy drinks._

_I stood and headed for the little fridge in the hallway, wondering if Richard had remembered to bring home a Mountain Dew. Though, why I was going after a drink with that much sugar and caffeine at nine at night, and on a Wednesday, no less, was beyond my brain’s capacity for reason at that point._ _And so, after finding the object of my search and calling a ‘thank you’ toward the living room, where I could see the white-haired man responsible for the soda’s presence sprawled out on the couch, I returned to my room, slipping my legs under the rickety table that held my laptop carefully._

_Then everything changed. One minute, I was sitting there, typing away happily, and the next..._

‘What the hell am I doing in a fucking snow drift?!’

_That thought was followed up by some rather creative cursing as I stood there, trying not to freeze to death._

_“Oh my! You look like you’re half frozen!”_

_I looked over my shoulder._

I gasped as the world came back into focus. That woman had been...

*Nephry... But...* I stopped and actually started thinking. Wherever Kairi had been before being dropped in that snowdrift, it hadn’t been any place I knew of on Auldrant. Not with the technology I’d seen.

Kairi watched me silently as I slowly worked everything over. Then, just before I could question her on what she’d shown me, I was thrown into another of her memories. It couldn’t have been anything else.

_I paused and held a hand to my chest in shock. A wave of emotions tumbled over me: sorrow, pain, anger, hopelessness… I had no idea what to think. What was going on?_

_“Kairi?”_

_The feeling of being needed elsewhere came upon me, and I stared up blankly at Sync, his face almost right in front of mine. His lips continued moving, but I didn’t hear anything more, and my body was numb already. My vision followed my hearing, and the world went completely dark._

_It faded quickly, leaving me to open my eyes and blink repeatedly. But the fogginess wasn’t fading. I frowned and looked around, trying to see through the blur, and that’s when my hand touched against something. I didn’t pick up the glasses though. I didn’t need them to figure out where I was._

_My room. I was sitting in my bedroom, my journal open on the bed next to me, and my glasses sitting just a bit off. And, judging from my sore eyes and the tissues littering the corner of the bed, I’d been crying. Why was I crying?_

_I grabbed my glasses and slipped them on. While I’d gotten used to not feeling them across my nose, my body obviously was still used to it, because I forgot they were there a moment later. Now then, what was going on? I glanced down at my journal, picking it up and reading through it. There were more than a few smudges from where my tears had landed on the pages._

_As I read the first few lines, I understood, and that understanding brought new tears to my eyes. I closed the journal and set it on the bed before getting up and walking out of my room, taking the familiar path out to the living room. My body was on autopilot while my mind tried to reconcile with the new information._

_“You’re back…”_

This time, when the memory faded, I was shocked to find that the both of us had tears trailing down our cheeks. I reached up and brushed them away automatically, while Kairi hugged her knees and rocked back and forth.

*You’re from another world.*

Kairi nodded, though it was barely obvious, with her rocking. *Yeah. This body... It’s a doppelganger body. My Energy Core is mine. And my real body is back on Earth. But...* She stopped there and looked up at me. I took a deep breath, ready for the next memory.

It was well into the morning by the time Kairi was done, and while I’ll admit to being irritated by the fact that she’d been lying to me all that time, not only did I understand her reasons... I was more concerned about the effect it was having on her. With each memory, her feelings had gotten stronger, harder to control. While I wondered at how it was she was projecting her feelings to me, I knew that now wasn’t the time to ask.

Instead, I pushed her—gently—back into her body before dropping back into mine.

I’d never been the ideal older brother. Especially as a child. Nephry and I had only drifted further apart with time.

But Kairi needed someone. I had the feeling that Asch knew everything she’d just told me. Sync too, at least. Perhaps Dark. I doubted she’d gotten the chance to tell Reighn. And as for this... Asch was out of the question, given what had happened earlier. Dark was wounded; not in a position to be comforting her. Sync was emotionally awkward. He’d probably just make things worse.

I pulled Kairi into my lap—the only semi-comfortable position we could be in, given our limited space—and wrapped both arms around her. I let her cry, because it wasn’t often I saw this side of her. Not often... or rather, not at all.

That she’d not only ‘told’ me the entire truth about herself, her world, and my world (wild as the idea of being a fictional character was), but was also letting me see her this weak told me that she trusted me more than I’d thought. Which meant she was also trusting me not to push her away upon learning all that I had.

I took a deep breath, and found that the words I whispered came so much easier than I’d thought they would.

“Shh... Doppelganger or not, you’re still my little sister.”

I’m honestly not sure how long we sat there, but I know that it took Kairi longer than I’d expected to calm down. Well, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. If what I’d gathered was right, she hadn’t seen any of her friends, or her mother, for that matter, in over a year by their calendar. Over a year...

“Are you nineteen or twenty?” I asked as Kairi sniffled, trying to make it look like she hadn’t just spent the last hour having an emotional breakdown. She looked up at me and blinked, before frowning and thinking over it.

“Nineteen,” she said after a moment. “My birthday would have been just a week or so after Van and Zion captured me in the Meggiora Highlands.”

Glad that she’d finally recovered, I gave her gentle nudge, and she blushed as she finally realized the position we were in. The next thing I knew, she was standing over me, one hand held out to help me to my feet as well.

“We should probably get going...” she said, brushing her bangs behind her ear. They just fell back in front of her face again, but she didn’t seem to care. “The others are all standing outside the meeting hall. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

I nodded and adjusted my glasses, taking a moment to compose myself as well.

Dealing with my own emotions was one thing.

Having my sister’s emotions thrust onto me was entirely different, if for no reason other than the fact that she simply _felt so much_.

“I’m sorry. You’re an earth affinity, with a water secondary...”

I looked down at her, wondering just where that had come from. She giggled a bit. “Water is balance. Wind is freedom.” She paused a moment. “Fire is passion. Earth is stability. Wind and fire counteract earth and water. That’s why you’re feeling a little off. It’s because I’m fire, and you don’t actually have an element that doesn’t counter mine.”

I blinked for a moment while that settled in. Then I decided that it was best left alone.

“Shall we be going?” I suggested.

Kairi grinned and started walking off.

I couldn’t help but smile as well.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Well. Jade took that well. Reighn? Nah, he’s not gonna be quite so collected afterwards. (Then again, Kairi was pretty emotional for this chapter, so...)_


	78. Chapter 9.1 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another Chapter...

_“Sorylle must’ve told him about a certain, over-fluffed, half-camoflier cheagle being in the city. I hope he doesn’t do anything rash...” –Kairi_

_“Is_ this _what you two have been doing all morning? ... We’re doomed.” –Sync_

* * *

 

It was a peaceful moment. The busy citizens of Baticul hadn’t yet awoken. The sun was just lightening the eastern sky as the stars disappeared, one by one. I made up imaginary shapes, since the stars here weren’t the same as those from Earth.

It left me to wonder if one of those stars I saw could have been the sun of my home solar system.

“Eeyagh!”

I sighed. Peaceful moment broken.

I looked over my shoulder to give Seth and Flick a reproving look. The girl just grinned, completely unabashed as she skipped over to me, silver bells of her new clothes jingling all the way.

“What? I used to do that all the time. Not my fault he’s forgotten that.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re hopeless.” Seth chuckled.

“Well? What do you think will happen later?” he asked. I looked up at the eastern skies, and viewed the sunrise with hope.

Natalia had been even more confident than she had been in the game, and I had no doubt that it was because of Dark. Asch was right. Her heart was torn between him and Dark, and somehow, I had the feeling that Dark was the one she needed by her side more than Asch. Which was probably a good thing, given what had happened in Sheridan between me and the redhead.

Asch seemed to be beating himself up over the kiss, while I had decided that it may just be better to let him work it out. Jade had pointed out one thing. Regardless of my current status as a doppelganger, I was still me.

Even knowing full well that ours was likely a doomed love, I was willing to jump right in, because it was the most genuine thing I’d ever known.

Of course, there was no way I was telling Anise about this. She was ridiculous enough, what with having so many people to tease about their relationships.

“I think King Ingobert will change his mind,” I said. Seth didn’t reply. He didn’t exactly have a chance to. Flick pulled him down the stairs nearby headed for Miyagi’s dojo. Right. He’d returned to Baticul after having a chance to recuperate, hadn’t he?

Still, Flick was rather unpredictable.

“Her destructive programming is taking effect,” I muttered. “She will be irresistibly drawn to large cities, where she will back up sewers—“

“—reverse streets signs, and steal everyone’s left shoe. What’s the thing with the left shoe, anyway?”

I couldn’t help it, I busted up laughing. “I have no idea how many times _I’ve_ asked that question, honestly!” Asch chuckled right along with me, and I figured, either he’d made up his mind, or he was going to hold off on dealing with it until after this was all over.

Asch didn’t speak for a while. Neither of us did. We just watched as Baticul slowly woke up. Our audience with Ingobert wasn’t until nine, and it was barely seven, so all we could really do was relax.

“Natalia and I were talking last night... She’s ready to go talk to Uncle again. Although Dark seems to have vanished.”

I frowned. Why would Dark... Oh. Oh boy.

“Sorylle must’ve told him about a certain, over-fluffed, half-camoflier cheagle being in the city. I hope he doesn’t do anything rash...”

“Huh?!”

I laughed at the expression on Asch’s face. “Mohs.”

“Oh... That... Explains a lot.” A pause. “Over-fluffed, half-camoflier cheagle?”

“That’s what Twilight called him.”

Asch snorted, then finally let it devolve into laughter. “The worst part about liger curses is... you really have to understand ligers to know that they’re curses. Otherwise, it just sounds really...”

“Goofy?” I supplied when Asch didn’t finish that sentence after a moment. We exchanged a look before the laughter started up again.

In fact, we were still having difficulty keeping straight faces when we joined up with the others.

Ion was dressed up in his Fon Master garb again, while Sync looked downright grateful to be wearing his green coat. Natalia, I noted, was still wearing Noir’s gift. Either the rest of her clothes were in bad shape, or she had really come to like it. Aside from that, and Luke’s coat, the rest of the Abyss group was in what you’d expect them to be in.

“Flick and Seth won’t be coming up with us,” Jade said as I looked around for the duo in question.

“Contingency plan? Or are they just goofing off?” Selenia asked. Jade shrugged.

“Considering that it was Flick who informed me, I’m honestly not sure.”

Asch and I exchanged looks and once again broke up in laughter. “Definitely Stitch.”

“But wouldn’t that make Seth Lilo?”

“Jade could pull Nani.”

Sync’s face-palm brought us back to the group quickly enough that we did get to catch Jade’s completely baffled look.

Sync, on the other hand, looked caught somewhere between wanting to laugh his head off and exasperated. “Is _this_ what you two have been doing all morning?”

Another exchanged glance. “Yes.”

“We’re doomed.”

Natalia’s frustrated huff, on the other hand, _did_ manage to sober us up, and we headed up to the castle. I glanced off to the left as we made our way across the courtyard. Ion had slipped over to the Fabre Manor with Sync the day before, and the two had come back with Ion grinning like a little kid and Sync smirking. Then again, there are days when I wonder if it’s actually possible for Sync to smile consciously.

Dark joined us once we entered the castle. We arrived in the audience hall on time, and I took quick note of the people in attendance. King Ingobert, Alpine, General Goldberg, General Cecille... Suzanne?

And Mohs. Of course. Although he suddenly looked a bit paranoid.

Suzanne was sat in what must have been her sister-in-law’s throne. I smiled. That was a good sign. It meant Natalia’s throne was still open to be reclaimed.

“I looked over your letter last night,” King Ingobert started. “Is there really no other way? The sephiroth have held the land afloat for two thousand years.”

Most of the eyes in the group turned to me. I was, after all, the resident expert in Dawn Age machinery.

I took a deep breath. “If, from the start, the passage rings had been properly maintained, and the core’s vibration had been monitored, and the proper measures taken to release that extra pressure on the passage rings... None of this would be necessary at all. Even if the lapse had started just a couple centuries ago, it would have been nothing to get the entire system back into top shape. But that machinery was put in place and then basically left to rot. The only way to fix any of it now would require shutting everything down anyway. Which means we’d have to lower the Outer Lands regardless of whether we were planning on leaving them there or not.”

“Your Majesty, she is but a little girl, playing with things she can’t possibly know of,” Mohs said almost immediately.

“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t call my _adult_ sister a little girl,” Jade added. Mohs scoffed.

“Adult? Ha! That girl is barely sixteen!”

“Nineteen, as of two and a half months ago. Now then, if we’re done questioning my age...” I turned back to King Ingobert, who looked about as irritated with Mohs as I did.

Bets on how long it’s going to take him to kick Mohs out, anybody?

“I see. But you plan to silence the core’s vibration, so that the liquefaction stops and it would be safe to leave the Outer Lands in the Qliphoth. What of the miasma?”

I took a deep breath. “The dividing line between the Qliphoth and the Outer Lands is currently holding it back. When we lower the land, that dividing line will drop along with the land, and push the miasma back into the core.”

“Are you sure?”

This time, the questioning came from behind me. I sighed. “That field’s too dense for it to do anything else, and I’ve already started solidifying it further. It helps that I’ve managed to pull all but the two Gates out of Van’s hands. All of the active sephiroth, save for those two, are dumping just a few hundred extra fonons into the force field every time they complete a cycle. Which is once every three hours or so. By the time we actually get around to dropping the land, I’ll be very, very surprised if the dividing line breaks for even a moment, let alone let any amount of miasma through.”

“Fa—Your Majesty. Kairi is confident in her knowledge of the passage rings. However...” Natalia started. She took a moment to take a deep breath. “Lowering the Outer Lands to escape our deaths should the passage rings fail will be pointless if we simply send more soldiers to their deaths against Malkuth.”

“Your Majesty, she speaks nonsense. The Score—“

“Dark.”

The former assassin grinned and finally drew the gun he’d been fingering, lifting it and aiming for an extremely startled Grand Maestro.

What shocked most of the gathering, however, was that it was _King Ingobert_ who had spoken the teen’s name. He stood and stepped off the dais. Mohs didn’t dare move, not with Dark’s gun aiming for his face. Ammunition or not (and I’m sure there _was_ ammunition there), a shot to the face hurt.

“Did you really think I would agree so easily to the murder of a girl I’ve raised the past eighteen years?” Ingobert asked. “We may not be related by blood, but Natalia is my daughter.”

“But... but...” Mohs floundered for a moment, before his eyes caught on Dark’s. The boy raised an eyebrow.

“You were willing to set a trap for me, an assassin who you knew just wanted to get by. I couldn’t risk that you would do something to Natalia, my charge, just to monopolize the king’s ear,” he said.

“And I’m glad Dark warned me. The Score? Your Score would have me sacrifice my nephew simply to start a war.”

“Father!”

Ingobert turned away from Mohs, made it two steps toward Natalia, and was practically tackled to the ground by the blonde. He looked past Natalia, glanced at Dark, and nodded.

Dark smirked and motioned to a number of the soldiers standing around. “Escort the Grand Maestro out of the castle,” he ordered. General Cecille started, and he raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong, ma’am?”

“Lieutenant, you don’t have the authority—“

“Actually, Colonel Daemione does have that authority, Brigadier General,” General Goldberg interrupted. I blinked a few times and looked over my shoulder at Dark.

“Colonel?!” Anise sounded surprised. No wonder. So was I.

Dark just chuckled and waited for Mohs to leave the audience hall. That didn’t take long. He was being escorted, after all. “As of this morning...”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “So that’s where you disappeared off to...”

Ingobert and Natalia stood, the king turning to us. “Yes. I’ve had Dark keeping me informed of everything. Especially Mohs’ involvement. I realized after you all escaped from Baticul that a number of the men Dark and Kairi had to knock out were higher rank than him. Besides, he’d earned it.”

It was quiet for a moment as things settled down a bit. King Ingobert looked over our group. “We agreed last night, without Mohs’ interference, that we would attend this peace conference,” he said. “All I ask is that you leave Dark and my daughter in Baticul until that time.”

I crossed my arms. That made sense. “Alright.”

The rest of us turned and left, Twilight growling a goodbye to Sorylle as we went.

The next stop, once we’d collected up Seth and Flick, was Grand Chokmah, and that one wouldn’t take near as long, we hoped.

Since he wasn’t necessarily required to be the Fon Master for this one, Ion didn’t wear the Order of Lorelei robes, instead changing back into his white and green clothes. I guess a couple months of not wearing them made them a bit uncomfortable.

We made it to the palace without too much trouble. And then found out that Emperor Peony was already in the audience hall. How helpful. We didn’t even have to fight past the damn rappigs.

“Ah! Good to see all of you in one place again finally! Well... Maybe not all of you. No Natalia or Dark?” Peony asked. I shrugged.

“They’re setting things up in Kimlasca. Still willing to go through with that peace treaty?”

The man grinned, and Jade (and a number of the people nearby) groaned. “Have you two no sense of propriety?” Sesemann grumbled. I shrugged.

“Why be proper when you get the important parts done quickly? We still have to make another stop before we can even _think_ about holding the peace conference, because as things stand now, we have no reasonable means of getting to Yulia City,” I stated. Peony nodded.

“As long as it’s not Keterburg, I’m there.”

Asch and I exchanged a look. “We’ll leave Jade here while we go get the flightstone,” he said. Jade gave us a glance, and I raised an eyebrow, which resulted in an eye-roll, a sigh, and a mumbled complaint about troublesome siblings.

It was about an hour later, when we were all settled in on the Albiore again, that Asch and Sync grabbed me and pulled me into the back. Asch crossed his arms, and Sync had his hands on his hips.

“You told Jade, didn’t you?” Asch asked. I nodded.

“He was kinda eavesdropping on us back in Sheridan,” I admitted. Asch groaned, turning a nice shade of red, while Sync looked confused.

“What happened back in Sheridan?” he asked. Asch moved to tell Sync it was none of his business, but...

Well, he hadn’t given me much of an idea of where he stood yet, and I was really starting to worry about it, so...

Asch actually squeaked when I covered his lips with mine again. Sync flushed a bright, bright red, and it was worth the red I’m sure was dusting my own cheeks to see just how embarrassed my little brother was all of a sudden.

Asch looked a little lost, but at least the both of us got a bit of amusement out of Sync’s floundering attempts at speech. The green-haired teen finally gave up and left, and Asch looked at me.

Something collapsed in around my heart, because for a moment, I was sure I’d screwed up everything. And then Asch moved, and I didn’t fight back. It was only the second time I’d let him lead when not in a fight, I realized later.

The first time had been months previously, back when I still childishly believed that I held Asch as just a friend, though that was likely about the time when things started to change. I wondered if it would be different now. It probably would.

We broke apart, and I grinned. “We have got to dance again.”

Asch just laughed.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _There’s a chapter in Re:ARitA that starts like this one. Peaceful moment on a ferry... “Sync’s awake.” Peaceful moment broken. –grins- One has to wonder if that’s gonna happen in AEtT, too... (I wouldn’t know. I’m still trying to figure out what the hell Dist is up to. Which really ought to be warning enough right there.)_


	79. Chapter 9.2 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods I have a headache...

_“I hate to say it, but you and Daath is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of how little time you spend here.” –Cantabile_

_“Assuming I don’t use Kairi’s own frying pan to remind Reighn exactly why that’s a horrible idea in the first place.” – Cantabile_

* * *

“Ah, Daath.”

“Can we please avoid a disaster for once?” Sync asked. I snickered.

“I don’t do it on purpose.”

I got a lot of annoyed looks for that one, and I rolled my eyes and pulled out my bag. “Okay, how about this. I go in and get the flightstone by myself, while you guys stay out here and be prepared to run if everything _does_ go to hell.”

Asch crossed his arms. “You sure you’re gonna be able to find it?”

I nodded.

“Fine. Just be careful.”

“Um, Asch? Is that really such a good idea?” Tear asked as I pulled out my Intelligence Division uniform and headed back to change. I heard Asch sigh.

“She’ll be able to move a lot faster on her own. Besides, it’s not like it’s going to be hard for her to find it. It’s _Dist_. She basically just has to follow the really obvious breadcrumbs.”

I rolled my eyes. Yeah. Pretty much. Because Dist is a bit of an idiot.

Okay. A lot of an idiot.

Once dressed, I warned the others I was leaving and then, quite simply, left.

I knew where Reiner would be. I knew how they got the flightstone in the game. And, if all went well, this really wouldn’t take long.

Meandering through the crowds was easy. I got lucky. Didn’t have to deal with Dist’s paper-airplane letter with his damn laughter included.

I headed straight down into headquarters and wondered just why no one had bothered to remind the guards that no, I am not actually an Oracle Knight. Oh well.

“What are you doing down here?”

I blinked and looked over my shoulder. “Oh, hey Cantabile.”

She gave me a look, glanced around, then sighed and stalked after me. “I hope whatever you’re doing isn’t going to get us in trouble,” she said. I shrugged.

“Maybe a little, if he wakes back up before I’m gone.”

“He, who?”

“Reiner.”

“Dist’s retainer?”

“Yep.”

“Why him?”

“He’s got the flightstone.”

“You need it that badly?”

“Yep.”

“Fine. I outrank Dist. Retainer or not, he’d have to give it up if I ordered him to. Does that simplify things?”

I paused a moment and nodded. “Yeah. Major simplification. So, how much of a mess did we leave behind last time?”

“Not much. Nowhere near as bad as the mess before that, where half of you got arrested.”

I nodded. “I try not to cause problems. It just... happens. You know?”

“And Ion wants you as a God-General.”

“Reighn did. Ion just happened to agree.”

Cantabile was quiet for a few moments. “Reighn’s a good guy, but sometimes I really have to wonder what he’s thinking.”

“You mean ditching us for Aerith because of something to do with Clans that no one’s heard about in millennia?”

“That... takes the cake.”

“Oh, we didn’t tell you about that one?”

“No.” Cantabile didn’t sound amused. “That’s right up there with wanting you as a God-General. I mean, you’ve got the brains for it, and the skill. But you and Daath...” She sighed. “I hate to say it, but you and Daath is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of how little time you spend here.”

“As I keep reminding people, I don’t do it on purpose.”

“I’m not sure that makes it any better.”

“Locrian General Cantabile!”

The two of us paused as Rialle ran up to us. “Yes, Rialle?”

“Grand Maestro Mohs is back, and he doesn’t look at all happy.”

I snorted. “I’d imagine. He’s been effectively kicked out of Baticul, permanently, because of Dark.”

Rialle glanced over at me and then smiled. “Oh. Hi, Kairi!”

Cantabile crossed her arms. “I’ll deal with Mohs later. We’re on something of a mission right now.”

The brunette nodded, and the stepped into line next to me. I raised an eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes. “What? Mohs is _mad_. I kinda don’t want to go deal with him alone.”

I nodded. That made sense. I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a pissed-off Mohs either. Okay, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with Mohs, period, but that’s beside the point.

Rialle grinned. “So... I heard something about you coming here someday as a God-General?”

“Assuming I don’t use Kairi’s own frying pan to remind Reighn exactly why that’s a horrible idea in the first place,” Cantabile muttered. Rialle and I just giggled.

Then we stepped down into the training area, and Cantabile stepped right over to Reiner. Within moments, she left the poor man standing there looking baffled, and I had the flightstone in my hand.

Couldn’t I have just given Noelle the one from Northern Rugnica?

Yes.

Was I going to give it up when it just made sense to get the original flightstone back?

No.

Hence, the reason why I left the cathedral with not one, but two flightstones in my possession.

Once the flightstone was put back into place, we were back in the air... Well, in the air, period, so far as I was concerned. I’d never gotten to fly in the Albiore yet.

“Do you all mind if I talk to you for a moment?” Ion asked. I glanced back at him from where I was standing next to Asch’s seat.

“What is it?” Tear asked.

“I was just thinking. Chesedonia is an autonomous state, and they’ve been in the Qliphoth for some time already. I know it’s not really proper, but shouldn’t we at least allow Astor to be present at the peace conference?” he asked. I nodded. I remembered this, barely. Damn. My memory of events was getting worse and worse... Not that it would really matter, soon. The way things were going, nothing was going to be familiar by the time we faced Van at the Absorption Gate.

I still wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing, or a bad thing.

“Ion’s got a point. Besides, Astor’s the one who arranged the temporary truce between the two militaries when the land fell,” Asch said. Noelle looked over her shoulder at us.

“Should I drop you all in Chesedonia to tell him while I go get the king and emperor?”

“That would likely be best. We’ll stay at an inn in Chesedonia for the night. It’ll also give us a chance to recuperate from all of this running around,” I agreed. Asch snorted.

“You’re the only one that did any running in Daath. Tell me, how much chaos were we lucky enough to not have to witness?”

“None, no thanks to Cantabile. And here I thought she was a fellow lover of chaos.”

Sync groaned and proceeded to bang his head off the wall.

“You shouldn’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself,” Ion said. He sounded genuinely worried, too. Which of course, just made Sync keeping doing it.

Asch and I at least got a few snickers out of it. “Let him give himself a concussion if he wants. Not like there aren’t a bunch of healers around. Besides, maybe he’ll knock himself unconscious so we don’t have to listen to him complaining of boredom during the peace conference.”

Ion gave me a look. “You’re cruel.”

Sync let his head fall against the wall one last time before he spoke. “Mom’s worse. Her idea of teaching me how to swim involved throwing me into the middle of an ice-cold pool and yelling at me from the edge of it.”

I nodded, as if lost deep in thought. “That sounds like Cantabile.”

“Her attempts at stealth training were pretty amusing though... when Sync wasn’t stupid enough to pick me as a target.” I looked over at Asch and raised an eyebrow.

“Pranks?” I guessed. He nodded.

“Yeah. The one with Arietta and the orange feathers was... inspiring.”

“I had a lot more fun with the one with Legretta and blue paint,” Sync commented.

Anise was giving both of them incredulous looks. “Whoa! You mean all those pranks on the upper level members of the Order of Lorelei a couple years ago were...”

Sync shot her a smirk. One of those ‘I’m awesome and I know it’ smirks that I’d actually started fearing, because the last time he’d done that, he’d dropped a large amount of snow down my back. So, yes. Fear the smirk.

“I’m pretty sure I got Ion too.”

“You mean... that was you?!”

I busted a gut laughing at the indignant look on Ion’s face. Oh, I’d seen Sync wearing that expression many times before. But Ion?

So of course, we spent the entire trip to Chesedonia discussing Sync’s pranks. Tear had even loosened up and started laughing after a bit.

Once we landed in Chesedonia, Ion took the lead... once again dressed up as the Fon Master. Better to be safely official, we’d agreed.

Well, Ion headed to Astor’s mansion. Sync went with him. So did Anise, and Tear, and Guy. The rest of us headed for the inn and started sorting out room assignments. And Asch, being the irritating, noble gentleman he is...

“Kairi’s staying with Flick tonight. For propriety’s sake.”

Which, of course, clued Flick and Selenia in on the fact that yes, we were officially ‘a thing’, finally, and they decided a few hours of ‘girl talk’ was necessary. If Asch wasn’t sure what my frantic fist-shaking was when the two of them pulled me off to the room I’d be sharing with Flick, he’d be finding out in the morning.

Early in the morning.

Try five o’clock in the morning.

Yes. I did drag Asch out of bed, just to beat him up for leaving me to the mercy of not two, but four girls when Tear and Anise had returned.

Needless to say, I got a solemn promise to assign me to either Jade’s or Sync’s rooms in the future.

Although I also ended up giving Sync a few bruises to remember after he’d started laughing his head off at me for having to deal with Asch’s poor planning skills.

So, yes. It was a set of very abashed and bruised teens that met Jade when he came to inform us that Noelle had landed and Natalia and Dark were waiting on us.

“What exactly have you two been up to this morning?” he asked. Flick ducked her head and started laughing, earning her a knock upside the head.

“Not so much what they did this morning as what the idiots did last night.”

Asch chuckled nervously. And no wonder. Jade was my older brother, Asch could very well get himself skinned.

“Asch and Kairi are official!” Sync said quickly before ducking behind Asch. Jade gave them both a bemused look, then rolled his eyes.

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. Come on, let’s go. Everyone else has already been taken to Yulia City,” he said.

The rest of us followed him out to the Albiore, where Natalia (still dressed up in her pretty dress) and Dark (who was actually wearing a _uniform_ ) greeted us. Asch gave them both odd looks, as did Seth. Dark rolled his eyes and pointed at Natalia.

“She threatened to shoot somewhere painful if I didn’t wear it for once,” he said. Natalia at least had the decency to look a little bashful. “So, yes, I’m wearing a uniform. I want no comments, please.”

Sync snickered behind me, and at a dull glance from Dark, I reached back and smacked the green-haired teen.

“Thank you...”

“Now, now, let’s not be fighting,” Jade said. “It’ll only take us a couple hours to get to Yulia City. The peace conference is set to begin in four hours. It’s bad enough Asch and Sync are all bruised up. I don’t think it’ll look any better if _all_ of us have bruises.”

Mumbled agreements went around, and all of us settled in to wait impatiently.

“So, assuming everything goes the way we want it to and King Ingobert and Emperor Peony agree to the peace treaty, what’re we going to do?” Dark asked. “I know we have to stop the core’s vibration and lower the land, but...”

I took a deep breath. “We’ll start with the core operation in Sheridan. Once that’s done... I’d like to make a stop in Belkend...”

I got a lot of worried looks for that one, and I pulled the bottle of morphine out of my bag. There was a little bit left, but... “If I’m going to have to operate one of the Gates, I want to have a little more...” I admitted. “Anyway... Aston and Tamara are planning on building a second...er... third Albiore, so we should try to go borrow that when we’ve got time, because it may be best if we split up for the Gates. Jade’s fonslots are coming along again. Given a few more days, I should have them opened back up completely.”

“And with his current status as a seventh fonist, that means the only person that really needs to be there to actually operate the passage ring is him,” Asch muttered. I nodded.

“So we’ll probably send Jade and Tear to the Absorption Gate, while my group goes to the Radiation Gate. But I want to stop in Keterburg before we split up. It’s a shorter distance to the Absorption Gate than the Radiation Gate, but...” I trailed off and looked at Luke.

“Van said he wanted to try and catch us at the Absorption Gate. By the time we fight past him, and possibly Zion, the second group will have probably made it to the Radiation Gate,” he said.

The others nodded, and planning started.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I wish you guys could see some of the comments Tea makes on my writing. I’ll use three from this chapter just to give you an idea. For the first two, the quote from the chapter is underlined, Tea’s comment is surrounded with these~, and any comments I make are added in parentheses. (The last one... well, you’ll understand.)_

_“I don’t do it on purpose!” ~The rules of AERO are formed mostly by two sentences: ‘It sounded like a good idea at the time’ and ‘I didn’t do it on purpose’.~ (For context, AERO is a secret organization of mutants in the Avengers universe in one of my stories that will probably not go anywhere any time soon. This line is actually spoken by Clint Barton/Hawkeye before Molly (an OC) brings to everyone’s attention the fact that most of the former (the ‘It sounded like a good idea at the time’) were his fault.)_

_One of those, ‘I’m awesome and I know it’ smirks... ~FEAR THE SMIRK!~ (Which, given the Sync in her Boundaries stories... Yes. Definitely fear the smirk.)_

_(The last three paragraphs of this chapter...) ~I love how none of this actually happens like this.~ (In my defense, there was roughly a year between this chapter being written and the Lowering the Outer Lands Operation arc.)_


	80. Chapter 9.3 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far behind...

_You don’t make people wait. They start plotting. –Kairi_

* * *

“Then please add your signatures to this document.”

I stuck my tongue out slightly and made a face at Asch, who sat with his father, uncle, and cousin on the Kimlascan side of the table. Luke stood over his shoulder, much like Dark stood over Natalia’s and like I stood over Jade’s.

Asch gave me a sympathetic look, while Natalia, the only other person to spot my little act of defiance, gave me the evil eye. I rolled my eyes at her. Well, this certainly wasn’t going to be boring for much longer. Their fault for making us wait for three hours after we arrived. You don’t make people wait. They start plotting.

Like we’d started plotting.

“Good. With this, we conclude the formation of the peace treaty,” Teodoro said. I glanced at Guy, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Wait just one minute,” he said, sounding irritated as he walked over to King Ingobert. I shifted my weight slightly. I’d been standing just behind and to the right of Jade, who was, conveniently, seated right next to Emperor Peony.

“Guy!”

“Sorry, Luke, this is important. Shut up for a minute,” Guy snapped at the replica, hand already tensed to draw his sword. “You made an agreement like this right after the Hod War. Can you keep it this time?” he asked the king.

“This is different from Hod. That was to bring us prosperity through the Score,” Ingobert insisted.

“That’s why you destroyed Hod?!”

All eyes turned to me next, Jade’s widening even further when he realized the implications of just where Guy and I were standing.

*Don’t interfere. This _needs_ to be done,* I told him.

“There were Kimlascans there, too! Like my mother,” Guy added. His sword slipped free of its sheath easily, and before Emperor Peony could move (because he’d certainly shifted to do so) he also found himself at the edge of a blade.

“Kairi, Guy?! What are you doing?!” I’m not sure who all spoke out. Natalia and Luke for sure. Asch, too, though he sounded less scared and more confused. A few others, too, though I’m not sure who all.

“I was born in Hod, too,” I reminded everyone of my cover story. Asch was still giving me an incredulous look, for obvious reasons, since he knew the truth, but it was obvious Sync had figured out my ploy. “And I’m getting the feeling Kimlascans weren’t the only ones involved with this.”

But King Ingobert was making an odd face. “Your mother...?”

“Eugenie Cecille,” Guy clarified. “You sent her to marry into House Gardios as a gesture of peace. Don’t try to say you’ve forgotten.”

Duke Fabre stood up. “Guy. If you’ve come for revenge, then kill me. I’m the one who killed Countess Gardios, because she refused to aid in the invasion of Malkuth.”

Guy growled. “My mother at least knew what she was doing when she married into that family!” He glanced at me here. “But what possible reason was there to involve everyone else?! To destroy Hod?!”

Peony sighed. “Kairi may have chosen a more worthy target for her blade than you, Gailardia Galan.” He glanced up at me. “She was correct in assuming that Malkuth was involved as well. Kimlasca didn’t destroy Hod. It destroyed itself. No... We destroyed it.”

“What are you talking about?” Tear asked from the corner we’d stuffed the rest of the group in.

“Fomicry research was being conducted on Hod. Jade knows what I’m talking about,” the emperor said.

Jade cringed. *Oh yes, I remember...* It took every ounce of my self-control not to jump. He’d never severed the connection I’d made when I warned him that this was necessary. “With war about to begin, we shut down all of our fonic experiments on Hod,” he said aloud. “There just wasn’t time to deal with the fomicry research.”

“The previous emperor—my father—decided to destroy the Kimlascan army, and Hod with it,” Peony interjected.

“I heard a test subject was connected to a device that artificially generated a hyperresonance,” Jade continued.

“So that’s how Hod was destroyed...” Guy said softly.

“My father presented the event as Kimlasca’s work to quash anti-war sentiment at home,” Peony added.

“That’s horrible... I feel so sorry for the test subject...” Anise said. I snorted, drawing eyes back to me again, most indignant and shocked eyes.

“I would have a year ago. He’s kinda managed to majorly piss me off since then.”

And no, I did _not_ miss Jade’s smirk at that comment.

“Though, the record shows he was only eleven years old at the time,” he managed to say, sounding... well, not amused, but certainly not as sympathetic as I’m sure he does when you’re playing the game. “You may have known him even then, Guy.”

“Me?”

“He was the son of a knight who served House Gardios. I believe their family name was Fende.”

Tear’s eyes widened as she looked at me. “You can’t mean... Vandesdelca Musto Fende?!” Though she said the last two fast enough that it sounded more like ‘Vandesdelca must offend they.’

“You know him, Tear?” Luke asked, looking cautious. Guy closed his eyes.

“If he’s the son of Fende, she more than knows him. And so do you Luke. Think about it,” Guy said. Luke looked like he’d swallowed something sour.

“Van.”

I nodded. “It’s how he knew about animate replication, even though the Malkuth military sealed the information.”

Ion stepped forward. “Guy, Kairi, why don’t you sheath your swords for now? It’s beginning to sound like you’d have to kill almost everyone in this room.” Guy nodded and complied. I sheathed my sword only because this next part, the part Guy had _really_ wanted my help with, was more threatening them over the future than the past.

“I stopped wanting revenge a long time ago,” Guy admitted.

“I never thought Van’s name would come up like this...” Teodoro said.

“Wait. Before you send us all running off on our own, there’s one more thing Guy and I need to make clear,” I said. Asch mouthed a dejected ‘now what?’ at me as I crossed my arms. “Aureriun. Barakaru. Seshire. Darigan. Fende. Garudiosu.”

Peony and Ingobert gave me shocked looks that bordered on horror.

“Hod was originally given to the Clans, two thousand years ago. To the day it was destroyed, it was still Clan territory. And each Clan is the safeguard of one of the six seals that binds the summon spirits of Auldrant,” Guy said. “The problem is, there are only two remaining descendants of Aureriun in Reighn and Aerith Aurelius. The same can be said for Fende, in that Van and Tear are the last of that Clan. I’m the last of House Gardios, the last descendant of the Garudiosu Clan. And Seshire has since changed to Cecille. It is, literally, the only of the six Clans that is not in danger of disappearing.”

I sighed. Trust Guy to give me the tricky parts. “Darigan has four surviving descendants, thanks to fomicry. Miyagi-ojii lives in Baticul. His granddaughter Din can be found in Chesedonia, if you know where to look. We don’t have a clue where Danté is. And Dark is in this room.” Ingobert gave Dark a worried look after that comment. “Barakaru, which had already changed to Balacruft by the time Yulia read her seven-part Score, has since evolved into Balfour. Jade’s been adopted out and Nephry married out. Had Seth not been born before Nephry married, the seal they safeguarded would have already been broken.”

Jade blinked a few times. “Your adoption makes you the current heir, though, doesn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

It was quiet for a bit before Ingobert sighed, muttering something that I didn’t quite catch. Judging from the look on Natalia’s face, it wasn’t exactly polite either.

“And this is deadly important because...?” Peony asked, looking just about as worried as Natalia. Ingobert huffed.

“Reighn Aurelius has invoked the Clan Precepts.”

“No. Aerith did that,” Guy said.

“Reighn only stood up because he’d have been giving up his place as heir to Aerith if he didn’t,” I added. “And Aerith doesn’t appear to be on our side.”

“Miyagi is the current Clan Head of Darigan. And Din, the child of his elder daughter, has chosen to abdicate,” Dark said reluctantly. “If Danté does the same or he somehow ends up dead, I’ll be the heir.”

I crossed my arms and looked at Tear. “With the way things are going, we’re not going to have much of a choice when it comes to killing Van. Which means not only will Tear be the heir of the Fende Clan, she’ll also be the last of its members.”

“We’re running out of time, and to be quite blunt, Aerith was right to invoke the Precepts. We can’t afford to stay in the shadows any longer,” Guy finished.

Peony, Ingobert, and even Teodoro now looked bashful.

“I see. Then, perhaps it would be best to adjourn now. We all have much to think about, it would seem,” the elder of Yulia City said.

No one argued. I was tired of standing around in that room, and so was just about everyone else.

I left before Asch could catch me. It was obvious that Duke Fabre wanted to discuss something with him, probably something to do with the fact that we were now dating, and it was probably a warning not to get caught up in the mess with the Clans. Really, Guy and I barely understood it ourselves. Guy had known a little before Miyagi had started teaching us, but not much.

What we needed to do was get to Tataroo Valley. Reighn gave us that hint for a reason. We needed all the information we could get on this mess.

I found myself wandering toward one of the warp pads that led down into the city’s underbelly. Well, we weren’t planning to leave until tomorrow morning...

I knelt down and pulled up the plate, attaching power cords with an ease born of many hours of practice. Once the pad was active, I stepped on and let it carry me down into the darkness.

I didn’t even bother to turn the light switch on. I just started walking, half on the second plane where I could see.

I’d found the eastern warp pad, rather than the western, where I usually came down, but it wasn’t as if I couldn’t navigate from somewhere else. Besides, the eastern access terminal should be around here somewhere... ahah!

I spotted the platform I was looking for, jogged the last few feet to it, and hopped into the indent in the middle before reaching down and turning it on. I grinned as the screens came up and started tapping buttons.

I’d been doing this for a while when something else in the dark underbelly lit up, back in the direction of the platform. There was a large, fonic reactor between me and the platform itself, but the amount of light told me that whoever was coming knew where the light switch was. I didn’t bother to leave. Teodoro had given me permission to come down here whenever I wanted, and to be quite honest, I was having fun... er, sort of.

I’m not sure running calculations is supposed to be fun, but... I wasn’t bored yet, so...

The lights on the walkway lit up slowly as whoever it was came around the corner. They were taking their own sweet time, and to be quite frank, I didn’t really care who it was. I was much, much more interested in seeing what I could understand about this.

By this point, I’d moved everything so it was hovering over the inner edge of the ‘wall’ while I was sitting on one of the three flat parts of the terminal.

I wasn’t sitting on anything important, so who cares?

“You know, usually when you run off by yourself, you’re trying to hide from someone.”

I glanced over my shoulder. I hadn’t exactly expected Jade to come after me, but I suppose he’s probably got questions for me. Still...

“I’m surprised you found me down here.”

Jade adjusted his glasses, glanced around the terminal, and walked around to sit on another of the flat sections. “I’ve been looking for you for an hour. So has Asch. He said something about you and computers and the underbelly of the city when I asked him why he was wandering around looking completely lost. So I asked Teodoro exactly how to get down here.”

“He pointed you to the maintenance warps, then,” I guessed. Jade nodded.

“He said you’d used the western when you showed them to him, so I started there. It wasn’t active, so I checked the northern next, then the eastern.”

“Logical.” I blinked at one of the screens I had open and waved my hand through the ring of blue light, sending the screens swinging to the left so I could get to the one I needed. I’d been running an estimation of energy supplies for Yulia City, trying to figure out where most of it was going and why it was going there. I’d already checked the basic energy outputs, but they’d been a lot higher than I’d expected, so that’s why I was doing this.

I frowned at the information I was getting. It looked like most of the excess energy was being siphoned into something else. Someone had managed to get into some of the power reservoirs and was redirecting that energy.

I started running a trace, trying to see if I could get a better idea of where the energy was ending up.

“You look concerned.”

I nodded, tapping the screen I’d just been looking at and sending it at Jade. “Catch.”

His hand shot out just in time to ‘catch’ the screen I’d seen sliding toward him, and he looked at it curiously. I gave him a few moments to examine it.

“Is this redirecting of energy supposed to be happening?” he asked, pointing out the same thing I’d noticed. I shook my head.

“No. I have a suspicion as to what, or rather who, is redirecting it, but... Oh, you know about Tales of the Abyss. I’ll tell you...” I muttered that last bit. “Van and the God-Generals have two main replication facilities in the game, post-Absorption Gate. Those two facilities are the Isle of Feres, and Eldrant. Given that the Isle of Feres floats around near Yulia City...”

“Floats?”

I made a face. “I... honestly have no clue as to the how and why. I just know that it does. Anyway, I’m worried that the redirected energy is being used for that, or worse, Eldrant. I’ll let the Isle of Feres float around. Once the fomicry machine’s gone, it’s not hurting anything. Eldrant is another story altogether...”

Memories of Asch and Sync dying in the game come to mind.

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

I smirked. “Cut them off. What else?”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Twee! More Clan stuff! ...And a bit of foreshadowing that I’m sure no one’s really gonna notice until Duke Fabre slaps everyone in the face with the thing being foreshadowed. (Even me. I didn’t expect that at all...)_


	81. Chapter 9.4 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there...

_“You’re not going to start spouting Asch’s proposal to you, are you?” –Kairi_

* * *

We made it back to Sheridan before Class M finished modifying the Tartarus. It seemed that, since they’d only had the space for two of them to work on part of the modifications, Aston had gone ahead and started building the third Albiore. He, Tamara, and Iemon were certain it would be done by the time we returned from the core.

I certainly hoped they’d get to work on it together.

Anyway, with the Tartarus not quite finished yet, the rest of us were once again left to wander around Sheridan, though I found myself grumbling about a lack of Dawn Age technology to fiddle around with.

Jade, Asch, Sync, and Dark were amused. Everyone else just gave me the same weird looks they usually reserved for Guy.

So I ended up standing on that platform again, looking out over the ocean and letting the sea breeze and the sounds of water calm me down. You know, the one where Asch and I had the talk? Yeah, that one.

I’d been there for a while when Natalia joined me.

“You’re not going to start spouting Asch’s proposal to you, are you?” I asked.

She made a choked noise, then giggled as she realized it was a joke. Laden with much less sarcasm than usual, but still a joke.

“No... Kairi, I... I apologize.”

I blinked a few times and looked up at her. “Huh?”

Natalia looked away from me. “I was eavesdropping on the two of you that morning,” she admitted. I’d already guessed as much, but didn’t say anything. “When Asch started speaking... I almost ran out and grabbed him. And even after... Asch was wrong. I was jealous of you, but not because Asch loved you...” She paused. “No... That came out wrong...”

She paused again, looked at me, and then looked away again. “I wasn’t jealous because Asch loved you. I was jealous... because he’d admitted it.”

I gave her a curious look. “And you’re coming to me now because...?”

“I didn’t find out until a couple days ago, when Father, Dark and I had an argument after the peace conference, but...” Natalia closed her eyes, and looked at me. “Kairi... Could you... do what you did... before? When I showed you how Danté caught me?”

I nodded, opening up a telepathic channel and drawing in earth and moon Energies. Then we delved into the memory.

_“You’re getting too close to each other. Natalia is engaged to Asch—“ Father was saying._

_“Asch has already started the process to break off the engagement, Your Majesty,” Dark cut in as politely as possible. “Given the recent relations between Malkuth and Kimlasca, Duke Fabre agreed that a marriage between his eldest son and the youngest sister of Colonel Jade Curtiss was just as logical a match as Asch and Natalia.”_

_Father gave Dark a rather flabbergasted look. “He’s willing to let Asch get drawn into your Clans mess?”_

_Dark shrugged. “Seth is still available to be the heir to the Balfours. Besides, we still don’t know whether Danté will abdicate or not. I’m not sure I’m willing to let Natalia get caught up in this yet myself, but I’m not going to leave her side until I’m certain I’m putting her in danger,” he replied. I took a deep breath._

_“Father—“_

_“No, Natalia!” I felt like he’d slapped me. “I was willing to overlook this before the Clan Precepts came into it. Dark is an honest, hard-working young man, but I cannot condone this sort of relationship if there is a chance that I could lose my daughter to the Clans.”_

_“But Father—“_

_Dark stepped between me and Father, and I cut off with a gasp. “I won’t ask for her hand, and I won’t ask her to get involved with the Clans if I’m drawn into it,” he said. “But I love your daughter, and I refuse to leave her vulnerable while I’m still not a danger to her.”_

_Silence reigned._

_“Dark...” I whispered._

_Dark growled something slowly, and I recognized it. How could I not, when I’d heard him growl it so many times before? But I couldn’t translate it. I recognized the first few words, but not the last one or two._

_Dark turned, mismatched eyes meeting mine past black bangs. “I hear your hearts’ song,” he said softly. I gasped, realizing just what that meant even as Dark turned back to Father. “It’s the liger equivalent of ‘I love you’.”_

Natalia’s memory ended, and I cut the connection. “He’s been growling those five words since he came to get me after Danté kidnapped me,” she said. “I’d noticed it, but I never asked, and he never said until a couple days ago.”

I smiled. “I think you two make a better pair than you and Asch, and I’m not saying that just because I want Asch to myself,” I said. I looked out over the ocean and took a deep breath. “I was Dark’s first real human friend. But you... He was stumbling around in the darkness with an equally blind liger and a girl who could see, but couldn’t stay. You’re the one who gave him the lantern. And you’ve done more than that since that first meeting, even.”

Natalia gave me a shocked looked, and I nodded. “You’ve led him out of the darkness altogether. And when you fell in, didn’t he come after and give back that lantern?”

Hazel eyes closed, and Natalia smiled. “Yes. He did.”

I sighed, happy with my work, and turned back to the ocean, eyes watching the waves.

I’m not sure when Natalia left, or when Sync replaced her. All I know is that I caught myself singing along to what he’d been humming after the third or fourth time he’d hummed it.

“It’s only a part of the song,” he said when I cut off sharply, finally coming back around. “I never heard the rest.”

 _“O fare thee well, my own true love, I’ll think of you night and day~”_ I barely remembered the song myself, but after stumbling through it a couple times, I’d figured it out.

“Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore, the High Kings. It was a fairly recent addition to my repertoire when I got dumped in Keterburg,” I said softly.

“Are you going to shoot me if I tell you that Celtic music isn’t exactly my cup of tea?” Sync asked. I giggled.

“No. So, anything else new?”

Sync gave me a look, and half an hour later and a number of country songs later, we found one I didn’t recognize. I memorized the tune, intending to look it up later. Ten songs later and only two more recognized, we decided that, once this mess was taken care of, I needed to go back and find the songs.

We’d returned to Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore—since it had gotten stuck in my head—and were singing that when Jade joined us.

“Given that I certainly don’t recognize that, I’ll assume it’s something from your home world,” he commented. Sync and I just nodded. After finishing the song, we looked up at Jade.

“Did you want to talk to Kairi?” Sync asked. Jade adjusted his glasses.

“Not really. I just thought the two of you would like to know that the operation starts tomorrow morning, eight o’clock.”

Sync nodded, glanced between the two of us, then left. Effectively leaving us alone to talk, despite Jade’s comment.

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me,” Jade said after a few moments. “About Tales of the Abyss.”

“Everything’s wrong. I know that.”

“Maybe for the better.”

“Or for worse.” I looked up at Jade, and curious crimson eyes met mine. “Zion’s a wildcard. Seth, Flick, Star, Rhunön, Ryndor, Danté... I don’t have a clue what they’ll do. Aerith is the same. Reighn and Selenia aren’t much better. The only person that never appeared in the game that I feel I might—might—be able to account for the addition of is Dark.”

Jade shrugged. “Maybe that’s for the best as well.”

I blinked a few times, then sighed, a small smile replacing my worried expression. “You’re right. Besides, I knew I was changing things the minute Asch and I ended up at Aramis Spring. I expected everything to get bent out of shape. But... Everyone that never showed up in the game... Every time they act, I feel like I’m being slung around in a lifeboat at sea.”

Jade nodded. “Perhaps things will calm down a little. It sounds to me like you could use some time to just think.”

I nodded. “I started thinking about it once, after Danté kidnapped me. I went back to Earth for a couple days. A friend of mine... we started talking about it, figuring out just what I’d changed, how it had happened... And then Flick came in, and I found out how little time I had before the game events started, and...” I stopped, let my head drop, and shifted my weight off of my right leg. “I could have healed my knee properly. I could have done it right the first time, and never had any problems with it ever again.”

“You rushed it.”

“Rushed it, then put too much stress on it trying to outrun Danté.”

Jade sighed and shook his head. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”

I giggled. “Yeah.”

It was quiet for a while, and then I sighed and pushed away from the railing. “I need to get some sleep, I think.”

“You’ve been put in a room with Natalia, I believe.”

I nodded and walked away, heading for the inn to get some sleep.

I slept soundly that night, despite my uncertainty about what would happen the next day. Would the God-Generals attack? The Council? I didn’t know.

And somehow, I didn’t care.

I was the first one up the next morning, as usual, and I ended up out on the platform again, staring out over the dark ocean and humming again. It was calming, and in my mind, I could picture a flame. I let it dance freely. It had been a while since I’d been calm enough to meditate properly, and to be quite frank, given all that had been happening recently, I didn’t blame myself.

My meditation was interrupted when Dark joined me on the platform, and I sighed. Asch, Natalia, Sync, Jade, who else did I need to have a heart-to-heart with here?

I glanced over at him then and found myself raising an eyebrow. Dark chuckled. “Natalia asked York if he’d mind making them for me,” he admitted.

The outfit he’d been wearing since before Akzeriuth was gone, probably stashed away in a wing pack where they could be pulled back out if necessary, since they were starting to get worn. And despite being sad to see the coat with the Kimlascan insignia on the back go, I had to admit that the new one was pretty nice as well.

Blue, white, black, and gold seemed to have become Dark’s colors, and I had to admit, they suited him. He’d kept the light brown gun holsters and black combat boots, and his new shirt was a darker, duller shade of blue.

I had to admire York’s work on his pants, though. Dark preferred tight pants due to the gun holsters, but York had somehow made them just loose enough to work with the blue camo pattern that adorned them. A light, almost white-gray trench coat covered it all.

“Nice.”

Dark chuckled. “Thanks.”

The two of us simply stood in silence for a while until Luke walked up to us. It was well after sunrise, so I guessed that it was time to get started.

“Aston said the Tartarus is waiting in the harbor,” Luke said quietly. “Anise and Ion are staying here in Sheridan. Asch said he wanted you to send Ion a telepathic message as soon as he’s at the edge of your range.”

“To avoid running the clock down too quickly,” I realized. Luke nodded.

“It was Jade’s idea.”

I nodded. “Alright. Everyone ready to go, then?”

“Do you have everything?” Dark asked, eyeing my admittedly weapon-less form.

I pulled out my wing pack so he could see, then stuck it back into my pocket. “I’d rather not have to worry about my weapons on top of everything else.”

The three of us left the platform then and headed for the edge of town.

No attacks yet...

Jade watched me as we walked up, and I noted the irritated look on Asch’s face. My brother sighed. “Since Asch isn’t going to let us go anywhere until I ask... Would you rather come with us and have Ion give the signal once we’re almost out of range, or would you rather stay here and give the signal yourself? We’re a little concerned about the miasma in the core and—“

“I’m coming with you.”

Jade sighed and adjusted his glasses before giving Asch a look that said ‘I told you so.’ The redhead groaned.

“Fine...” He turned and started walking, and I nodded to Ion and Anise before following.

I never really relaxed as we made our way to the port. I didn’t relax until about two days into the operation, actually.

No attacks. No one slipping onboard. Nothing. It was almost too silent, really, but it made things simpler.

By the time we reached the open space in the world’s crust where Akzeriuth had been, I was certain. We’d averted disaster, somehow, and all that was left was to leave the Tartarus in the core and then return to the surface.

I’d forgotten one very important thing, however.

“This is it. That’s the fonic glyph?” Natalia asked. I nodded. It was there. Not erased, like it had been in the game. I glanced at Sync, who gave me an encouraging smile. He knew this was uncomfortable for me, being in a place where he’d ‘died’.

“Yes. The Albiore should be above, on the maintenance deck. Let’s hurry,” Jade added, eyes locked on me. I shrugged.

“The barrier they put in place is doing its job,” I said. Then I stopped and frowned. I felt it, the sudden onrush of miasma-tainted seventh fonons, but... What the—?

Tear suddenly started glowing, and my eyes widened. Lorelei! I’d forgotten about Lorelei using her to talk to the others during the mission to the core!

As Lorelei spoke, I mostly tuned him out. This was when they’d found out about the miasma in Tear’s body in the game, but...

I barely registered that some of what Lorelei said was unfamiliar. I was more preoccupied with the barrier that was keeping the insane pressure and miasma away from us.

Lorelei released Tear, and Luke lifted the girl gently before all of us headed for the Albiore.

“What now?” Guy asked. I sighed, feeling fire racing through my veins again.

“Now, Belkend. I’ve no doubt I need to heal Tear.”

Asch sighed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _This was the last chapter I had finished before this year’s NaNoWriMo. Well, actually, before I started working two months before NaNo. Still. It’s been finished for a year and has been sitting ever since then._


	82. Chapter 9.5 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more...

_“Ignore my ramble and proceed to backtrack to whatever you two came in here for before that confuzzling conversation.” –Kairi_

* * *

 

We arrived in Belkend after a few hours of flying. Some of the others had discussed Lorelei’s message as we went, but I’d ignored them in favor of taking a nap. No one had commented on it, and had left me to sleep in peace. Well, at least until we got there.

“Come on, Kairi. We’re here,” Asch muttered as he shook me awake. I grumbled something incoherent at him, but got up anyway.

Duke Fabre was still mostly working out of Belkend, so we stopped at the governor’s mansion first, to find him talking to Viridian.

“Ah, you’re back. The core mission went well?” he asked. I nodded, half-slumped against Asch and still not totally awake.

“Lorelei contacted us through Tear’s body. Once Kairi’s actually awake again, she’ll have to clean up the seventh fonons left over,” Jade said. Asch chuckled and poked me in the cheek.

“For a morning person, you’re sure taking a long time to wake up,” he noted. I mumbled something, yawned, and shook my head. Well, no going back to sleep now...

Once I’d actually made up my mind to wake up, I woke up quickly.

“Wow. Was it Asch poking her or the reminder that she has work to do?” Sync asked. I reached over and smacked him.

“Now I remember why I hate naps...” I grumbled. I huffed and gave Tear a look. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Tear nodded and followed after me without complaint. Once we were alone, however...

“Kairi... I know you don’t like him, but...”

“If you’re worried about Van, Zion and Ryndor have it covered,” I said. I sat on the bed and made space for the younger woman, and she sat across from me quietly. “Ryndor doesn’t have my knowledge of Energies, but he does have more spirit Energies than I do. He’s taught Zion what he knows, though it isn’t much. Still, it _is_ enough to heal Van... albeit in a _much_ more painful way than I’m about to heal you.”

Tear nodded. “Thank you.”

Whether she was thanking me for healing her or thanking me for reassuring her, I wasn’t sure. Nor did I especially care at that moment. I slipped out onto the second plane and got to work.

Tear’s body wasn’t nearly as riddled with miasma as mine had been when I started to do this, so it didn’t take me long to finish. Like Luke, however, she ended up curled up on the bed by the time I was done. I left her there and stood, heading out the door.

Everyone looked up from where they’d been seated around the table. “She’ll be fine. Certainly less problems than I have.”

Asch’s expression darkened. “And on that note...”

I sighed. “Now?”

“Now.”

An annoyed groan and a bit of light shoving later, Asch had me alone in another room. “Lay down. I haven’t gotten to do a proper examination in a while, and I know you better than to think you’ve been taking good enough care of yourself to _not_ need _something_ fixed up.”

I nodded and did as he’d told me to, closing my eyes and meditating as he checked me over.

I lost track of the time quickly as I played around with an imaginary flame. Asch’s voice brought me back out of it.

“Kairi?”

I opened my eyes after letting the flame splutter out reluctantly. Asch sounded... like he’d sounded when he first told me I had miasma in my body.

“Yeah?”

“How many passage rings have you operated since Akzeriuth?”

I frowned and thought about it. “Mt. Roneal right after Akzeriuth. Mt. Zaleho when our two groups finally met up again. The Meggiora Highlands after Dark got shot, so we could get the frequency for the spry old idiots.” Asch cracked a smirk at that one. “Hmm... Nope, I think that’s it.”

And the frown was back. “Are you sure? Other than in the core and the peace conference in Yulia City, are there any other times you can think of when you were exposed to large amounts of miasma?” he asked. I frowned and thought back.

“Not that I can—“ I cut off abruptly as I remembered something. “Guardian’s Pain.”

“What?”

“In Tataroo Valley, there was a Sword Dancer. Seth got hurt, I got hurt, Dark used Sacrifice... I thought for sure he was dead. I was so angry... I pulled up contaminated fonons from the sephiroth nearby and... it was a dark version of Guardian Field. There was so much miasma, and it hurt like hell, but I was so upset I didn’t even give a damn,” I said. Asch clenched his fists.

“Do yourself a favor? Try not to use it ever again? Because if the damage spreads any farther than I think it will after operating the Radiation Gate... It’ll scar your uterus.”

It took me a few moments to figure out what Asch was saying. Once I did, I felt my throat drop into my gut.

No kids. Ever. And that’s assuming the miasma from the Radiation Gate doesn’t do more damage than Asch thinks it will.

Oh, shit. What about when the miasma comes back after the Absorption Gate? The thing that requires the sacrifice of so many replicas? What happens then? I’d been fortifying the diving line, but...

“And if the dividing line breaks after we lower the Outer Lands?”

Asch’s expression told me all I needed to know, and I sat up slowly, still trying to make sense of that revelation. It was disheartening, to say the least.

There was a knock at the door, and I glanced up. “Come in.”

Much to my surprise, it was Duke Fabre and Luke who walked through the door. I glanced at Asch. “Do I need to leave?” I asked.

“No. Given your relationship with the elder of my sons, it may be best if you stay.”

I swallowed and glanced at Asch. *Should we tell him about...?*

Asch grimaced. *Not yet. Not until...* He pauses. *And dammit, even if it _does_ change his mind, I’ll fight him every step of the way.*

I force a small smile before looking up at a now-frowning duke.

“I’m getting the impression you found out something that isn’t good.”

I bit my lip. “If I’m not very, _very_ careful... It could turn _extremely_ ‘not good’. It’s fine for now though, so I’m not going to worry about it yet.”

“What if _I_ did the Radiation Gate?”

I blinked at the sudden question, and then looked over at Asch. _Then_ I realized what he was saying. “You can flush the miasma as easily as I can, and with me standing over your shoulder, there’s not much chance of you screwing up the programming... But won’t your hyperresonance be needed to lower the Outer Lands?”

“If we’re right about how Van’s set things up? Yeah,” Luke agreed. Asch looked irritated. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t send Tear or Jade with you and have one of them operate the terminal.”

“Or Seth, or Natalia, or Dark, even,” Asch acknowledged, realizing that Luke was right. “Any seventh fonist, so the cleansed seventh fonons will leave their fonslots without complications.”

I nodded. “And that just leaves...”

“If _that_ happens, we’re all screwed anyway.”

“No, actually, we’re not, but I’d _really_ rather you two not have to do _that_. Well, actually, _you_. Luke’s a replica, and I really don’t think it’d be a good idea for him to be anywhere nearby during that.”

“Huh?”

I sighed. “Ignore my ramble and proceed to backtrack to whatever you two came in here for before that confuzzling conversation.”

Duke Fabre sighed. “I’ve already discussed this before with Asch, but I’d like to bring it up now with you and Luke.” Asch suddenly looks up at him, eyes wide enough to show his surprise. “I knew what I was doing when I attacked Hod. I had standing orders for my men to leave Mary and Gailardia, at least, alive, so that the seal that Clan protected wouldn’t be broken. The night before we attacked, I wandered off on my own and found an old shrine hidden in a cave under Hod.”

I remembered a bit of what Miyagi had told us about the old spirits, and lined up locations with elements and families. “The Shrine of Alvess, spirit of earth and the being used to seal away Sylph, a seal protected by the Gardios lineage.”

Duke Fabre looked mildly surprised, and glanced at Asch, who was giving me a rather baffled look. I sighed.

“Guy has an affinity for wind and water, fonon-wise. He’s also got an wind affinity and an earth secondary, Energy-wise. Miyagi told us of the six spirits, and their elements, and said each spirit was lined up with an element, and used to seal the fonon sentience of the opposite element. The families guarding the fonons are aligned with _that_ fonon, not the element of the spirit responsible for the seal. Jade’s an odd one out, being earth and water, but Nephry is fire and earth, Seth is also fire and earth, and I’m fire and water. And... Jade was adopted out early enough, he may have been fire and earth like Nephry and Seth to begin with,” I explained. “The Balfours guard the seal on Ifrit. So, since Guy was a wind affinity, it wasn’t hard to figure out that he’s guarding Sylph’s seal.”

Luke looked mildly amused. “And Dark and Danté are...?”

“Rem, which is rather ironic in Dark’s case.”

The three redheads found this about as amusing as I did, judging from their expressions. “Tear, contrary to her constant use of sixth-fonon artes, is actually more earth-aligned. Earth and water, to be specific, just like Jade. But Van’s Energy affinities are water and fire. So those two confused me for a while... before I realized that sun and moon Energies don’t align properly. Fende guards Shadow. Tear’s strangely backwards Energy Core is why she always uses sixth-fonon artes.”

“Right, hers and Dark’s both move left to right rather than right to left,” Asch realized. I nodded.

“Except Dark’s elemental affinity isn’t distorted from it due to his situs inversus.” Asch chuckled and muttered something about a suicidal replica under his breath. “And I don’t think I need to tell anyone that Reighn and Aerith favor water. Their hair and eye colors scream it loud enough already, even if their weapons and artes didn’t.” I sighed. “Now then. What were you saying, before I interrupted?”

Duke Fabre sighed. “I knew what I’d found when I found it, and... Guy’s grandfather was there. He knew it was quite possible that my attack on Hod would result in the seal breaking.” He paused and glanced at Asch, then me and Luke. Asch’s expression was carefully blank as he continued. “I also knew what it would mean for Auldrant if the seal was destroyed. For that reason... I allowed Lyondell Gardios to perform a blood adoption.”

My eyes went wide, even though Luke now looked _beyond_ baffled.

“Then... If Guy dies...” I started.

“Asch is the next heir to that bloodline, with Luke behind him,” Duke Fabre finished. Luke’s confusion faded away slowly, an unidentifiable emotion taking its place. “I can’t tell Asch not to get involved with you and the Clans mess, because he already _is_ involved.”

“Does Guy know?” I asked. Duke Fabre nodded.

“Yes. I told him after I told Asch.”

“Wait, wouldn’t that make Natalia involved already, too?” Luke asked, the confusion coming back. I shook my head.

“No. Suzanne can choose to be associated with the Clan or not because she married the duke and he wasn’t adopted until _after_ that. Even if the adoption had occurred before their marriage, King Ingobert wouldn’t be under any sort of obligation to align himself with the Clan. Natalia isn’t involved... with Gardios, at least. Darigan, on the other hand, is another mess altogether, and one that, while Dark and her father agree on... she’s fighting,” I said. Asch sighed.

“I noticed.”

Another knock at the door interrupted him, and Luke, being the closest, walked over and opened it up. Tear stood there.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, but Jade said that since I’ve recovered and Kairi’s medicine is here, we should head to Sheridan. There’s no telling how long it will take my brother to come up with something new to stall us,” she said. I sighed and nodded.

“No kidding. Alright. Now that Luke and I have some thinking material for the trip to Sheridan...”

Luke sighed. “Great. More things to worry about.”

Asch snorted. “Leave _that_ to me, for the time being, at least. You’ve got enough on your plate already.”

Luke shot him something just short of a glare. “Thanks.”

Tear sighed. “I’m really not sure I want to know,” she said. I giggled and shook my head, hopping off the bed and following after her. Luke, Asch, and Duke Fabre followed me.

Before I really even noticed it, we were all back on the Albiore and flying toward Sheridan. We hit rather heavy mist about halfway, and once it cleared, Guy cursed softly from where he was sitting up front with Noelle.

“What’s wrong?” Jade asked.

“That mist was so thick I couldn’t see to navigate properly, and I turned us too far west. Well, south, actually. We’re really off-course now, and we’ll have to either try to fly above the Meggiora Highlands, or go around them,” Noelle said. “The winds over Meggiora shouldn’t be too bad right now, but after Ginji crashed...”

I stood up and walked up front to join the three of them. “We can always check first. If I’m right about where we are, it’ll add another few hours to our trip to go the long way around. I can see wind movement using the wind Energies on the second plane—if it’s too rough, I’ll steer you away,” I said. Jade gave me a grateful look.

“Let’s do that. We don’t need any more delays at this point.”

Noelle nodded, and the Albiore quickly started gaining altitude.

I knew, in the game, that flying over the Meggiora Highlands brought you to the top of your limit for altitude. However, this wasn’t the game, and I had a feeling we could actually fly a bit higher than that.

I slid halfway onto the second plane and looked around. There were plenty of wind Energies, but they weren’t moving violently. Actually, they were rather calm. There were a few dangerous pockets, but I pointed those out to Noelle with ease.

That’s when Natalia pointed out something I hadn’t noticed.

“Is that... Oh, what did you call it, Kairi? Ultimatus?”

I glanced in the direction Natalia was pointing and felt ice run down my back.

She was right. It’s the Sword Dancer again.

“There’s enough space to land, and so long as the winds don’t suddenly pick up in the next hour, we should be fine,” Noelle said.

“Cool. I wouldn’t mind facing off against it again.”

“Just don’t use Sacrifice this time, okay?”

“Would you like me to heal?”

“That’d be nice.”

“Kairi?”

I turned around slowly.

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_ **_I’d originally intended to have them talking about Lorelei’s message in the core, since it_ was _different from canon, but I kept getting stuck. Then I nixed it and did this instead, and the whole thing just started flowing nicely._

_Hint, hint. I hate my characters sometimes._


	83. Chapter 9.6 - Back on Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter posted! -does a dance-

_“O flames of hell—What the fuck? Hello!” –Kairi_

* * *

 

 “Kairi?”

Asch’s voice drew me out of my shock, and I turned around to face him. Dark suddenly looked worried.

“Is this about what happened last time?” he asked. I swallowed, but couldn’t force myself to answer. I knew, from his expression, that he already knew.

Yes. Yes, it was. I’d almost lost Seth last time. Almost lost _him_.

“We don’t have to stop for it,” Asch said. Sync looked almost hopeful that I’d given it up for a moment. Then he slumped and gave me a look. I reached out telepathically.

*But if we don’t, we may never get to the last one. And you said you wanted to get Ultimatus for Asch,* he said, his reluctance written plainly across his face. I bit my lip.

*Ultimatus isn’t worth someone getting killed.*

*Dark isn’t a focused healer. Neither is Seth. Neither is Reighn. And you’re not a healer at all. Tear is.*

And Tear was offering to help us.

I closed my eyes for a moment and wondered. Was it really worth it?

I felt disappointment, and my eyes shot open again, locking on my right arm where Silver Clematis rested. Then I looked up and around at the others.

“Are we stopping or not?” Jade asked. I nodded with barely a thought.

“Yes. Dark, you said you wanted to fight?” Dark nodded. “That means we’ll have the two ligers as well... Tear, you’re really okay with healing us?” Tear nodded as well, and I continued looking around. Do I want someone else fighting short-range, or another fonist? Hmm... “Selenia?”

The brown-haired girl perked up. “Yes?”

“You up for a challenge?”

She grinned. “Yes!” She stood up, twirling her staff easily, and Sync gave her a worried look. Ion looked at me worriedly.

“Are you sure, Kairi? You had a similar lineup for the last fight,” he said. I nodded.

“Yeah, except none of them was real focused on healing until Seth got speared in the gut.” Seth nodded a reluctant acknowledgement to this. “And Dark’s light artes and mystic arte did a _lot_ of damage. That, in addition to Tear’s fonic artes if she isn’t needing to heal us, Selenia’s high fonic power, and me and the ligers keeping it mostly preoccupied...”

Asch crossed his arms. “Then, in addition to Natalia banning Dark’s Sacrifice, I’ve got a ban of my own.”

I flinched. “No Guardian’s Pain. I know. I don’t intend to use it again at all, if I can help it.” I got a few confused looks for that, but given my statement and expression, no one bothered to ask.

“Hold on!” Noelle called. I had already felt the Albiore descending, but that was our warning for the landing, usually.

The quickly-becoming-familiar bump later, and I glanced around at the others. They nodded back, and we stepped off the Albiore, walking across the plateau to where Ultimatus stood, almost seeming tall and proud. I led the way, flanked by the ligers, and with the other three behind us. Everyone else collected in a loose group a ways off.

_:You have returned... Yes... Let us see if you are truly prepared.:_

The darkness lashed out, forming the usual barrier, and I let the fonons of my katana slip away from my arm. I heard Dark mutter something about weapons, but paid him little attention as I moved in to engage the Sword Dancer. Last time, I’d let the ligers do this on their own. But I knew there was only so much they could do in a situation like this one.

“O vile wyrm of the dunes...” I let loose a Havoc Strike and then ran back.

“Burst, o hellfire!” This one was Selenia, and the ligers ran back as well.

“Sandstorm!” Dark finished just as Selenia’s chant ended, and the arte erupted. I glanced back, noting the way Selenia was holding her staff and the look of concentration.

Sandstorm ended, and the girl smirked, pointing her staff at the Sword Dancer. “Take that! Magma Plume!”

Whatever the arte was supposed to be, it sucked up the field of fonons and unleashed the Magma Plume on the Sword Dancer. Selenia and Dark both started casting again, while Tear let loose a Holy Lance. I had just run back in to attack when Selenia let off a happy whoop.

“Oh, yeah! Try this out!” I glanced over my shoulder, then immediately had to jump away from the Sword Dancer’s attack. Then I glanced at Selenia again. No, I’d seen correctly the first time. She really did have dark blue Tales of Symphonia-style wings. “Angel Feathers!”

And there’s the explanation for it. Damn. That’s cool.

The Sword Dancer screeched and lashed out at the nearest target, which happened to be Twilight, just before Dark let loose with a second Sandstorm. It was obvious he intended for Sorylle to use it.

I ran in next to Twilight and spun on my heel.

What I didn’t expect was for the field of fonons to collapse around me. I felt, more than heard, myself muttering the same verse I’d used last time against the Sword Dancer. Twilight jumped away from me, and I was silently grateful.

“Dark reckoning... Guardian’s Pain!”

Except this time... There was a poison present in the arte, but it wasn’t miasma, and it wasn’t racing through my body. Either way...

“Kairi!”

I jumped up and ran away, standing next to Dark as I double-checked what I already knew. I glanced out through the barrier, and spotted Asch immediately, left hand clenched around his sword’s sheath, right hand pressed up against the barrier. His mildly panicked expression faltered when he met my eyes.

“Move!”

I did, without even thinking about it. A good thing, too, as the Sword Dancer’s sword cut right through the space I’d just been in. I rolled to my feet and hit him with a Havoc Strike before running off again. Tear was over there, Selenia was already casting Angel Feathers again, and Dark was off that way, casting... Stardust Rain, I guessed.

This time, when I ran in to cast Guardian Field, it worked correctly, and Twilight growled a thanks at me.

“Angel Feathers!”

“Stardust Rain!”

“Holy Lance!”

The Sword Dancer screeched again. Then it unleashed a shockwave, and I found myself flying through the air and cursing.

I barely got turned around enough to land on my feet. Twilight and Sorylle weren’t so lucky.

“There’s no way we’ll get any damage in until that wears off,” Tear called. I nodded.

“Try not to get hit.”

Selenia rolled her eyes at me, but ran away from the approaching Sword Dancer anyway. I ran the other direction, and was mildly surprised when it decided to follow me instead. Okay. I can work with that.

I turned and let off a Demon Fang. It didn’t really deter the Sword Dancer, and I hadn’t been expecting it too, but that was fine. Any damage done would mean a shorter battle.

“Fireball!”

The Sword Dancer paused and turned on Selenia, who was already casting again. I ran forward, knowing I’d be regretting this if I wasn’t careful, and gripped my katana with both hands.

It had been a long time since I’d used a two-handed style, but it felt just as familiar as it always had before. Even switching from a left-handed style to right-hand-leading wasn’t awkward.

The one really nice thing about my two-hand style was that I didn’t have to do a lot of twirling to put more force behind a strike. Which meant I wasn’t turning my back to my enemy, for once, even for a moment.

The Sword Dancer swung at me, and my body acted before my mind could tell it that this was a _terrible_ idea.

I raised my katana to block the strike.

I’d taken good care of that katana over the Auldrant year I’d had it. It saw a lot of use, but also quite a bit of maintenance.

That didn’t mean average steel was going to stand up against a strike from the Sword Dancer.

I shifted my weight just fast enough to avoid taking too much damage from the blow myself, but with my katana now in pieces on the ground, I didn’t have much of a choice but to run to the barrier. I couldn’t use Silver Clematis, and Dark seemed to realize that, given the look he was giving me. I guessed his comment earlier was about the White Lotus chakrams.

So that just left my bow. In my wing pack.

I knew, under normal circumstances, it was possible, but not suggested, to be rooting around in a wing pack during a battle. But it only took one glance at my wing pack to realize that this was most certainly _not_ going to let me go along with ‘normal circumstances’.

No sword. No bow. Now what?

I scowled as Twilight got knocked to the side again and found myself running forward before I even realized what I was doing.

Dark unleashed a Sandstorm.

Sorylle, Selenia and I all pulled in the field of fonons at the exact same moment. Twilight once again moved to jump away from me. This time, he didn’t succeed.

Sorylle’s Glacier Stream froze the Sword Dancer.

Selenia’s Magma Plume melted him again.

My Guardian’s Pain hurt me—and the Sword Dancer—like a bitch. Much to his surprise however, it _did_ heal Twilight.

I figured out a moment later—after running out of the middle of that mess again—that the pain I’d felt had been a health transfer from me to Twilight. I glanced up and cursed. The Sword Dancer was after me, and there was no way either of the ligers would make it in time.

Well... here’s hoping sparring with Sync was worth the bruises in the end.

I quickly found a small positive in this situation, though, in that my agility was increased now that I wasn’t holding a weapon. A Havoc Strike and a strange little twist got me past the Sword Dancer, and I ran over to Dark again.

“Why was I even worried? You’re doing fine even without a weapon.”

I snorted. “I’d be doing better with one,” I countered, pulling in fonons and tapping my thigh for rhythm. “O flames of hell—What the fuck? Hello!” My fifth fonons disappeared instantly, replaced in a second by first fonons.

I recognized the arte that was forming the moment the first fonons flooded in, and smirked. Sure, I’d been poking around with it, but I hadn’t expected something like _this_ to happen. Oh well. My fault for using my fonslots for once, I guess?

“Bloody Howling!”

A screech, a Stardust Rain, and a shared glance later, and Dark and I raced forward. Now, this? This, I wasn’t sure would work. I’d really only developed the theory, and never tested it before.

With that thought in mind, I braced myself when Dark unleashed his over limit, and then immediately let loose with my own. That would protect me from part of the backlash, at least, if there was any.

Dark’s indigo wings formed quickly, and I focused on the first fonons still floating around from my Bloody Howling.

“O divine light of the heavens, consecrate these rotted souls so they may ascend to your holy lands!”

Certain that I had enough fonons on hand, I watched, and waited.

“Sacred Beacon!”

My fonons moved easily as Dark’s mystic arte ended, and I held my arms wide as if offering an embrace. “Judgment from heaven? Ha!” My arms came down, and I turned and took a couple steps away, noting the chains that bound the Sword Dancer now. “I’ll see you in hell,” I called, grabbing one and yanking. Every other chain moved with that one. “Devil’s Anguish!”

I smirked as the Sword Dancer screeched again and the arte faded. Once it was gone, I glanced around. The barrier was disintegrating, and our friends on the other side were looking relieved. Asch, especially.

_:You are stronger than you appear... Perhaps it will be enough...:_

The Sword Dancer began to fade.

I nodded. “Perhaps. Nothing’s set in stone.”

A dark, disembodied chuckle was the only response, and four weapons were deposited in place of the Sword Dancer. I walked over and looked at them.

“Hey, that blue one looks kinda like the red one from Tataroo Valley,” Luke noted. I nodded.

“Flamberge, which I gave to you, and the Vorpal Blade. They’re a pair. Fire and ice, offense and defense.” I looked up, found Guy’s eyes, and held it out. “I think you would be the best choice for this one.”

Guy blinked a couple times in surprise. “What? But, wouldn’t it be better for Asch?”

I shook my head. “No. Asch and Luke might appear to be a fitting duo for Flamberge and the Vorpal Blade, but those two are family. I’ll tell you the story about the Eternal Sword later, to help explain why it matters, but for now...” I held out the sword again, and Guy sighed and accepted it.

“Ooh... Hey, Seth? Or Ion, or anyone that can read Ancient Ispanian? What’s this say?” Selenia asked. I glanced over my shoulder and looked at the weapon she was holding out. I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s an axe.”

Selenia nodded. “Yep! But it’s really light, and kinda cool, and... Well, it just kinda feels right.”

Sync chuckled as he stepped over and looked at the inscription. “Gray Larkspur.”

“Another flower weapon?” Asch asked, sounding suitably surprised. I shrugged.

“Looks like it. Now then... This is obviously for Tear.” I held out the familiar Blue Crystal Staff you can get from the arena in Baticul. She held out a hand for it, and gasped softly before waving it around a bit.

“Huh... You wouldn’t think the Sword Dancer would be carrying around a pair of guns,” Dark muttered, reaching down and picking them up. He frowned at something on one side, and held one out to me. “I can’t read that.”

“And you’re handing it off to _Kairi_?” Asch asked, apparently assuming it was Ancient Ispanian. For a moment, I agreed with him.

Then I spotted the runes.

 _My_ runes.

“Kairi?” Ion prompted. I held my hand out for the second gun, and Dark handed it over. I glanced over the detailing. On one of the two guns, it was white and red. On the other, white and blue. I smiled slightly. Yes... I’d definitely screwed things up in this universe.

But if it meant Ion wouldn’t die, then so be it.

I flipped the guns around and held them out to Ion, who looked startled. “They are Aska, twin heralds of light.”

Ion swallowed and took the weapons carefully, then seemed to steady his resolve. He looked up at me and nodded once.

“So, you wanna tell me what was up with using Guardian’s Pain not once, but _twice_?”

I flinched.

“This sounds like a wonderful conversation to hold on the Albiore.”

Yeah, nope. Not getting outta this one.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Ion’s new guns courtesy of one of the Archfiends in my Demon Lord series. (If I ever finish the Tales of Symphonia one, I’ll start posting the Tales of the Abyss one, if for no other reason than because Colette and Anise make for a deadly combination of sheer ‘cute’.) Thank you Xero, you are truly a helpful Archfiend, unlike Exodus. Exodus is useless, and I’m rambling. So yeah._


	84. Chapter 10.1 - Divergent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's now a daily task on Habitica--Post a chapter a day! Let's see if it sticks for once...

_“I love how you insisted that it be an_ intelligent _argument.” –Flick_

_“I did that once and it blew up in my face. How did yours turn out all nice and pretty?” –Dark_

* * *

 

Once we were all settled into the Albiore again, Asch turned around and leveled a terrifying glare at me. Jade didn’t look too pleased either. Twilight whined, then growled. Dark sighed.

“I don’t think that’s gonna help her case much, Twi.”

I frowned. “I missed it. What’d he say?”

“If it helps at all, the second time did actually heal me.”

I nodded. “I figured that much...” I paused and closed my eyes, slipping out of my body momentarily to check the miasma levels in my body. Which were right where I’d left them.

Currently non-existent.

I snapped back. “Well I can at least say there’s no new miasma in my body this time...”

“Wait, what does the miasma have to do with this?” Natalia asked. Asch huffed.

“Her body holds imprints of more miasma influxes than there should have been for the number of times she’s operated passage rings. So I asked her if there was any other time she could think of that she could have been exposed to large amounts of miasma, not including Yulia City or the Core. She told me about using Guardian’s Pain in Tataroo Valley,” he explained. Natalia’s eyes widened.

“Oh! Oh, that’s right, you used that against the Sword Dancer after Dark...” she trailed off here and glanced at the boy who had nearly killed himself. I nodded.

“Yeah... Except that time, I was pulling up contaminated fonons from the nearby sephiroth and going straight into it,” I said. I then looked up at Asch. “This was different. We knew when I started using Guardian Field that Guardian Frost would never come easily. So long as I stick to only using it as the FoF arte it is, I should be fine.”

“And the flinch the second time?”

“It siphoned my strength into Twilight to heal him.”

“Then you should be careful using it for too many people,” Jade said. “Like with Dark’s Sacrifice, it probably can and will drain you dry if you overdo it.” He paused and looked at Natalia and Dark. “And on that subject... If and when we ever get a chance to talk to Reighn again, I think it may be best to discuss how to put a limit on a Forbidden Arte. If Dark can figure out how to limit the damage done to himself...”

“No!” Natalia insisted. Dark scowled.

“It could give us the edge we need, Natalia. But I’m not exactly in a hurry to die, and Jade brings up a good point. Reighn knows how to set a limit on a Forbidden Arte, Twilight saw him do it in Daath against Aerith.”

Seth nodded. “I was there, too.”

Natalia looked upset, and Dark wrapped an arm around her and led her off a ways. Guy then started looking around. “So... Who’s going in which Albiore to what gate?”

I sighed and glanced at Asch, who gave me a _very_ pointed look.

“Luke and Asch have to go separate ways. Tear, you and Natalia are our primary healers, I’m going to want you separated as well, just in case. Dark and Ion would be redundant in the same group, so they’ll have to go separate ways too.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, why are we taking Ion?” Anise asked. I looked over at the boy in question.

“Do you want to come?” I asked. He nodded.

“Yes. And... if you don’t mind, I’d like to be in Luke’s group.”

I nodded. “Okay. That’ll put Dark with Asch. Tear, any preferences?”

She shook her head. “Not really, but... If Dark is going with Asch, you should probably send Natalia with them. I’ll go with Luke.”

I nod gratefully, then look around at the others. Noelle, sitting up front in the pilot’s seat, catches my eye. “Noelle, you’re flying to the Absorption Gate. You’ve been flying us all over and you’ll need your rest sooner or later. It’s a shorter flight from Keterburg to there, so you’ll be able to rest while that group deals with Van, since we know he’s supposed to be there.”

“I really don’t mind flying, but you’re right. I could use the rest. Thanks, Kairi,” Noelle said.

“Scoot us a little to the left.” She did. “And you’re welcome.”

Asch chuckled and headed up to sit by Noelle. “Let me keep her away from the rough wind while you finish figuring that out,” he said. I smiled and then went back to glancing around.

“I want to send a liger with each group, so if Dark and Natalia are going with Asch, Sorylle can go with them. Twilight, I want you to go with Luke, Ion, and Tear,” I decided, already having a telepathic connection opened now.

*I’ll only go with them if you do,* he said. I sighed.

“With my katana destroyed, I’ll probably have to resort to my bow for the most part, anyway. Alright.” I looked around again. “If that’s the case... Flick, I want you with Asch.”

“Wait, you’re going with Luke?”

I groaned. Should have known Asch would argue. “Twilight insisted.”

Asch scowled. “Then I hope Sync doesn’t mind being in the same group as Ion.”

Sync shook his head. “No. That’s probably a good thing, anyway. Flick and I have pretty similar fighting styles—we shouldn’t be in the same group.”

I nodded. “Seth, you’re with us. Jade, Selenia, go with Asch. And Mieu?”

Mieu bounced over with a happy ‘yes?’

“I know you prefer to travel with Luke when they’re not traveling together, but this time I’m going to have to ask you to go with Sorylle. Okay?”

“Mieuuuu... Alright...”

I gave the little cheagle a sympathetic look. “You can ride with Luke to Keterburg, though.”

“Mieu! Okay!” A now much-happier cheagle bounced back over to the redhead in question, and Luke chuckled.

“What about me and Anise? She’s probably going to want to go with Ion, and I want to go with Luke, but...” Guy trailed off. I glanced between the two and took a moment to think. The groups were pretty evenly arranged as things were, but...

“Anise comes with us. Guy goes with Asch,” I decided. If all else failed, Havoc Strike and Raging Blast didn’t require my sword, and I could apparently use Guardian’s Pain without a sword—I wasn’t sure I wanted to try to use Guardian Field like that, though—and also... “Natalia?”

The blonde looked up as she and Dark rejoined us. “Yes?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask and just never got around to it... Would you mind helping me out with a few strike artes?”

“Not at all,” she said. “But... wouldn’t it be easier to just buy a new sword?”

“We’re going to have to buy supplies, medicine, and probably some armor while we’re in Keterburg. As much as I’m sure she’d love to visit Barst, we don’t exactly have the gald available to add a weapon onto our expenses,” Asch said.

“And it’s not like I can’t shoot a bow,” I added, a bit irritated. Natalia looked a bit bashful.

“Oh... Sorry.”

Now it was Jade’s turn to frown. “I take the lineup to mean that you and I will be the ones operating the passage rings?” he asked.

“No!”

I sighed. “What Asch said. You’ll be operating the passage ring, yes... but it’ll be either Tear or Sync on our end. I’m under strict orders not to expose myself to any more miasma than absolutely necessary,” I admitted.

“So, who’s going where, exactly?” Dark asked.

I glanced at Luke, then Tear, then Asch. Then I prodded Ion, Guy, Flick, Seth, and Jade mentally. *Do we send Asch’s group or Luke’s group to face Van?*

Jade adjusted his glasses. *I’d rather _we_ went, honestly. I feel like we’re a little better set up for dealing with him. Ion isn’t used to large battles like that, and you’re not going to be using a weapon you’re quite as familiar with.*

Ion fidgeted a bit. *Jade’s right. And I’m not really comfortable with the thought of killing him...*

*Why did you drag me into this, exactly?* Flick asked. I rolled my eyes.

*’Cause me and Twilight were already here and I needed an odd number.*

*Riiight...*

*Cut it out, you two,* Seth grumbled. *As it is, it’s already three for Asch’s group going to Van. And I’ll throw something extra onto Jade’s reasons. Tokunaga isn’t exactly agile, and Van _can_ cast artes pretty damn quick. Anise would make for a pretty good target.*

*That having been said, I’m almost tempted to argue with Kairi’s decision of putting me with Asch’s group. I know it’ll put Anise in the line of fire... but she _really_ doesn’t like Ion’s decision to fight, either, and if something happens at the Radiation Gate...* Guy trailed off.

A few minutes of discussion and a lot of irritated looks from the people _not_ hearing this conversation later, we came to an agreement, and I cut out everyone except Twilight.

“Okay...”

“Oh, you’re done jabbering away where the rest of us can’t hear, huh?” Anise grumbled. I sighed.

“Yeah. And you’re really gonna love the decision we came to,” I replied, voice laced heavily with sarcasm. Anise looked a bit worried now. “ _You_ are going with Asch to the Absorption Gate. Guy is coming with us to the Radiation Gate.”

“But, Ion!”

“I’ll take care of him, Anise,” Sync said before she could keep going. She shot him a nasty look.

“I think between Sync, Luke, Tear, Guy, and Kairi, I’ll be just fine. I’m more worried about you now,” Ion intervened. “Van’s at the Absorption Gate, not the Radiation Gate.”

Anise seemed to realize the wisdom in Ion’s words, and I looked around.

“The Absorption Gate team will consist of Asch, Jade, Natalia, Dark, Sorylle, Flick, Selenia, Anise, and Mieu,” I said. “Luke, Sync, Tear, Ion, Seth, Guy, Twilight, and I will go to the Radiation Gate. Anyone want to present an _intelligent_ argument now before we get to Sheridan and split up on the Albiores? Because it would be best to get some strategy planning done on the flight to Keterburg.”

Flick snorted. “I love how you insisted that it be an _intelligent_ argument.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Ignore the purple and red sarcasm factory over there.”

“Hey!”

Seth chuckled. “Well, it’s accurate.”

Aside from a few stupid comments, nothing much else was said. Once we landed and checked in with Aston, Tamara, Iemon, Henken, and Cathy—why those two hadn’t yet gone back to Belkend was beyond me—we split up. Noelle flew with the group that would be going to the Absorption Gate with her, while Ginji and I...

“So you can see wind patterns using the Energies on the second plane?” he asked as we took off in the Albiore III. I nodded.

“Yeah. It’s a neat trick, and it’s come in handy a lot over the past few weeks.”

Ginji thought it was absolutely amazing, and kept asking me how it worked. I basically told him at one point that he’d have to wait until we landed to try it.

Aside from that little blab at the beginning and a short strategy meeting right after, it was a rather quiet flight to Keterburg.

Once there, Natalia and I immediately sought each other out to start practicing.

I’d tried Storm Edge before, but had no luck with it, despite it _almost_ feeling right. Once I explained that to Natalia, she suggested casting Infernal Prison and then using the field of fonons for Blast Edge, to see if that worked out. That worked perfectly, and I had a suspicion, so I tried using Blast Edge without the field of fonons. It worked again, so Natalia and I moved on to something else—the Silver Shot Dark had taught her.

I was a bit wary going into this one, because I knew it was similar to Piercing Line, which didn’t like me at all.

But apparently, like most of Dark’s artes, Silver Shot _did_ like me.

So did its field of fonons counterpart, apparently.

“Whoa! What was that?!”

Natalia and I looked over our shoulders to see Luke standing there, looking startled. I chuckled. “I just accidentally set Silver Shot on fire.”

Dark groaned as he walked around Luke. “I did that once and it blew up in my face. How did yours turn out all nice and pretty?”

Which led to a long conversation about what quickly became named Phoenix Shot. Once Dark figured out what I’d done differently, he and Natalia were able to practice it as well... with the help of a few Infernal Prisons, courtesy of yours truly.

It was getting pretty dark by then, and I knew Nephry wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t at least say hello before we left again in the morning. It wasn’t quite as cold yet as I think it was in the game, so we weren’t as worried about the Albiores’ engines freezing over, but I’d told Jade to have Nephry send a couple people out to keep an eye on them overnight anyway.

“Kairi, wait. There’s one more arte I’d like to see if you can learn real quick,” Dark said after I mentioned returning to town. I gave him a curious look, while Natalia and Luke went on ahead.

“Fonic, or strike?”

He smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. “Fonic. You’ve seen me cast it before, once... about a year ago now, actually.”

I frowned and tried to think back that far. That would have been when I first met Dark. “Hmm... All I can really remember you using those first few days was Halo...” I paused as I remembered him casting an arte and then falling over the day I went to pick his brain about Negative Gate. “And Archangel’s Wing.”

“You’ve got a propensity for fire, and water, and light. And... Well, I’m mostly just curious to see if you can do it or not.”

I smiled. “Alright. Just so long as it doesn’t involve you falling on your ass again.”

Dark chuckled. “Of course not.”

We didn’t get a lot of time to practice. In fact, Jade walked up basically as soon as Dark finished explaining it.

“Nephry has dinner waiting for us at her mansion. She’s offered the open rooms to anyone who wants them, and has arranged for rooms at the hotel for any who can’t fit,” he said. I smiled.

“Thanks.” I looked over at Dark. “Guess that’s just gonna have to wait.”

He shrugged. “You know the theory now, at least, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out. Come on. Food’s calling.”

“Humph. I’d make my mom’s complaint about men and food... but I’m pretty damn hungry too.”

Jade smiled, then frowned. “Speaking of your mother...”

I gave him a curious look.

“Well, Asch’s parents know about your relationship, and Nephry, Seth, and I know, but...”

I shrugged. “It’s Mom. She’ll understand. If my doppelganger hasn’t already told her...”

“Um...”

“Pardon?”

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _I feel kinda sorry for Jade and Dark right there at the end. They have no clue..._


	85. Chapter 10.2 - Divergent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ermagersh, look! Another one. O.O
> 
> Also, gotta love Flick.

_“Ooh! You should twirl! Twirling’s fun!” –Flick_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

We stepped out of the latest warp, and Sorylle growled.

“The earth hums again...”

I frowned. “Thanks for the warning.”

The blunt, irritated tone of voice I’d taken and my words were enough warning for the others, and everyone braced themselves.

Just in time, as the platform started shaking again.

“The ground!”

“Watch out!”

“Aah!”

The platform fell out from under me, and I reached out as I fell, desperate to grab anything I could.

My hands met nothing but empty air before the world went dark.

When I woke up again, it was to a dull ache just about everywhere in my body. I looked around. I’d landed on a walkway, it looked like. A glance up revealed that I couldn’t really see the platform from here.

I got a sinking feeling in my gut.

Where was Sorylle? Where was _Natalia?_

“Dark?”

I looked over my shoulder, spotting what I hadn’t seen yet—Flick, bleeding from a head wound that was quite possibly a concussion, but alive. She was trying to stand up, but kept swaying and falling over. I stood and ran over, catching her before she stumbled too close to the edge of the walkway for comfort.

“Hold still, you look like you hit your head,” I told her. She groaned, but let me probe the wound. I sighed and started gathering up seventh fonons. “O divine ring of purity and grace... Halo!”

Flick grumbled under her breath and looked up at me. This time, her eyes were a lot more focused. “Thanks... Think you could teach me that sometime? I seem to keep ending up in situations where I need a healer. It’d be easier if I could just do it myself.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, if you’re actually a seventh fonist.”

“Oh, I am. Kairi made me one, like Asch made Jade one.”

“So that’s how she knew how to do it...”

“Yup. Ow... Still sore all over though...”

I sighed. “Yeah. Me too.” I stood up. “Come on. It doesn’t look like anyone else landed near us. We should go look for them.”

“Assuming they survived.”

I bit my lip. I really didn’t want to think about that but... If I hadn’t been conscious when Flick tried to stumble off the walkway, where would she be now?

“Damn, I’m missing Kairi right now.”

Kairi.

Telepathy.

_Spirit Energies!_

“Of course!”

Flick took a large step away from. “Of course, what?”

I sat down, cross-legged, and closed my eyes. “Guard me. I can’t do the half-way thing Asch and Kairi can.”

Flick looked confused for a while, but by the time I’d found my center and stepped out of my body, she seemed to have either figured it out, or decided not to bother me about it.

The first place I looked was up.

I only spotted one glowing pink mass right off. Then it seemed to dance in an odd way, and I guessed that it was actually two, with one moving and the other still.

Then I started looking around. I found another two off and up toward my left. These were moving together, and were a lot closer than the other two. But I didn’t see the last two.

Then again... Depending on how the platform broke, there may have still been a couple stuck up there. And I _couldn’t_ see _that_ from here.

Just to be safe, I went ahead and looked down. Nothing. So Flick and I had fallen the farthest... Or the other two had fallen further and not survived.

I let myself snap back to my body, and Flick noticed almost immediately when my eyes snapped open.

“Well?”

“There are four others still alive, at least. Two of them are closer than the other two.”

“And the last two?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t see the platform we fell from down here. Can you see it?”

She shook her head. “No... Any idea who the two groups consist of?”

“Not a clue. I just know they’re alive, and the two closer to us have very similar levels of Spirit Energies. The two further up are off—one’s got a higher concentration than the other,” I said. “I know Asch and Jade have more than the rest of us, but I’m not sure which one that was.”

Flick nodded. “Alright. Hey, are you sure the last group isn’t below us?”

I grimaced. “I looked. If they fell farther than us, they’re either too far down to see, or dead.”

She mimicked my expression. “Joy... So, now what? We just keep heading down?”

I nodded. “Yeah. It doesn’t look like all of these paths intersect early. They probably won’t meet up until right before the passage ring. We’re have to make do on our own... I just hope the other groups got lucky with their partners. Natalia, Jade, and Selenia aren’t the best melee fighters.”

Flick nodded. “We can hope. For now, let’s get going.”

She started heading down the path, and I followed her. It didn’t take us long to run into the first monsters, and rather than drawing my guns, I pulled out the chakrams I’d gotten from the Sword Dancer.

Kairi had told me a little about what she knew of fighting with them, but I’d never really taken the time to experiment before.

And, really, I probably shouldn’t have been doing it right then and there, but I was confident enough in Flick’s skills to at least try.

I’d messed around with them a few times before, so I started by getting a little closer to the monsters. Usually I only did this when I needed that last push for over-limit, so this was going to be rather new.

The monsters were just tall enough that I didn’t have to crouch to hit them, so I started by swinging the chakrams in wide arcs. It hit the monsters, and left one badly poisoned and about to die, but my grip didn’t quite feel right, so I adjusted it quickly and tried again. This time was a little better.

“Ooh! You should twirl! Twirling’s fun!” Flick suggested.

She then launched into a twirl, a bright red ribbon spinning around her and flickering with flames every time it hit a monster. I rolled my eyes and ran over to help her, since my two were either dead or dying from the poison coating the White Lotus chakrams.

“Yeah, no, not sure I’m graceful enough to pull that off without stabbing myself, thanks,” I argued. Flick giggled.

“Okay, so don’t actually twirl. But try spinning on your heel. Make a circle. You get the point. Dragon Dance!”

She says, as she does the twirly thing again. Wait...

“That’s an arte?”

“Strike arte! I get bored a lot, so I make up strike artes to pass the time. Most of them I forget about a couple days later. The others I actually use, or foist off on other people.”

As I cut through the last monster, I sighed. “Is that why you’re trying to get me to spin?”

Flick giggled. “Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe next time you’ll have a little better luck with that.”

We continued on down the path, killing monsters as we went. Flick did, during the fourth or fifth battle, get me to spin. Sometime during a battle after that, I could safely add Ring Whirlwind to my arte list without halfway bullshitting it.

However, once I felt comfortable fighting with the chakrams in my hands, I started trying to throw them.

I found out real quick that the White Lotus chakrams will _always_ come back.

Even if you don’t want them to.

Flick reamed me out for nearly hitting her one of the times, so I started practicing that _only_ when we were coming up on a group of monsters, _before_ she took off into the middle of them.

It took us a few hours to find a large platform with another warp. I glanced around.

“There’s a lot of connecting pathways here. We should settle down to wait. The others will probably end up here too,” I said. Flick nodded and sat down, and I gave her outfit an appraising look, and not for the first time. “So... why the bells?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “I always liked bells. But they annoyed Star and Ryndor to no end, so when I commissioned my new outfit, instead of putting beads or something at the ends of the strings, I asked the man to use bells. He thought it was kinda weird, but I love ‘em!” She paused and gave me a look. “You... don’t, do you?”

I shrugged and sat down. “Neh. I don’t really care either way. I just thought it was odd... Hey... I know you’re younger than Sync and Ion, but...”

“Sixteen months, as of about a week ago.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

Flick nodded. “Yeah. Rhunön programmed me with information on martial arts, the same style Sync was taught. That’s why our fighting styles are so similar. But I’m trying to change that... I wanna be different, someone else, someone new.”

“That’s part of why you use strike artes you made up, isn’t it?”

She nodded again. “Yeah. Phoenix Flare and Dragon Dance are my two favorites, followed by Poison Burst and Black Wings.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted.

“No making fun of my Black Wings! I made that one up before I even heard about the Dark Wings! ...And, they’re more red than black, anyway...”

I chuckled. “Sorry... I couldn’t resist.” Once I was done laughing, I leaned back. “So... I’ve seen Dragon Dance and Phoenix Flare... Could you show me the other two?” She nodded and stood up, easily demonstrating Poison Burst, which looked kind of like a dark Raging Blast, and Black Wings.

For this one, she jumped up and threw her hand out. What looked like a glowing red and black butterfly appeared and slammed into the ground, similar to Natalia’s Star Stroke arte.

“Nice...” Actually. “Think you could teach me the second one?”

Flick looked at me in surprise. “You... you wanna learn my Black Wings?”

I nodded. “It looks interesting, and something I might be able to adapt for both of my fighting styles.”

The shocked look on her face slowly morphed into a grin. “Okay!”

It took us almost half an hour for me to grasp the theory. Flick wasn’t the greatest at explaining things, and I did have to modify it just a bit to work with my weapons. Since I was more familiar with using my guns, I started with those.

Except that the wings of light that I summoned didn’t look like butterfly wings, nor were they red. Instead, they were black and indigo, like the wings that formed behind me when I was casting Sacred Beacon.

“Huh... That was weird,” Flick noted. I blinked, and did it again, this time with the chakrams, just to make sure. It worked with those too, and it was still indigo.

“Interesting...”

“What’s interesting?”

Flick and I turned around to see Selenia skipping over. Natalia trailed after her, and I sighed in relief. “Oh, thank Gods you’re alright.”

She looked amused. “Alright, I know about when Asch started doing that, but when did you pick it up?”

Selenia just looked baffled. I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure what Natalia was talking about, myself.

“So, what’s interesting?” Selenia asked again. Flick glanced at me, then turned and let off her Black Wings. I waved at Selenia to get her attention, then did mine.

“Um... Are they _supposed_ to be that different?” Natalia asked. Flick shrugged.

“I dunno. I mean, I sorta created it, but Dark did some modifying since he uses weapons and I don’t, but I don’t know if that’s the real cause,” she said. I frowned.

“I’m not sure it is. Mine’s the same color as my wings for Sacred Beacon... So... Selenia? Want to see if you can learn it?” I asked. “I know you’ve got really blue wings for Angel Feathers, so if it’s supposed to be different from person to person...”

Selenia nodded cheerfully. “Okay! I could use another strike arte! All I’ve got right now is Comet Strike.”

Flick tilted her head to the side. “Really?”

Selenia just kept nodding. “Really.”

“Huh... I got a few ideas for you, if you and Dark wanna do that. I can really only figure out artes for myself.”

Selenia looked at me hopefully, and I sighed. “You’re all hopeless. Yes, I’ll help. But first...”

“Ooh, right!”

Much to my surprise, it didn’t take long to teach Selenia the strike arte, nor did she take a long time adapting it to her own fighting style. Staff or axe, it would work either way.

And, also to very little surprise on my part, the wings came out butterfly in shape—though with more rounded wings than Flick’s rather rough-edged butterfly—and in the same dark, royal blue of her Angel Feathers wings.

Same generic shape, actually, now that I think about it.

“That’s strange...” Natalia murmured. I shrugged, and Flick grinned.

“I think it’s pretty cool! Though I think I need a new name for it now...”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not in the mood for fighting with that right now. You can come up with something new on your own, or you can wait until after this is all over with and we can have a group discussion on it.”

Flick nodded. “I think I’ll do that. Kairi, especially, could probably come up with a really good name for it.”

Natalia smiled. “Probably.”

The four of us ended up sitting around again for a while. At some point, Selenia pulled out sandwiches for us.

“Where are the others?” Natalia asked, finally starting to lose her patience. I shrugged.

“I dunno. I know I saw two other groups, and I’m guessing the two with similar levels of Spirit Energies was you two, since you were the closest to us,” I said. “There was a group further up, and one had more than the other... I know Jade and Asch have more Spirit Energies than the rest of us, so I’m not sure...”

“It could also have been Sorylle. She only has a single Spirit Energy,” Natalia said. I blinked a few times, then nodded.

“That’s possible too. I hadn’t even thought of that... Well, it was either Sorylle and Anise, or Anise and either Asch or Jade. Not a big enough difference to be Sorylle and Asch or Jade,” I said. “Still... I only saw the two groups. There’s either a third even higher up than the second one, or... Well, Flick and I are _still_ sore from that fall.”

A solemn thought, and not one it looks like Natalia or Selenia have had yet.

“Let’s hope they didn’t fall,” Natalia said. “Especially Asch.”

Because if he was dead, then this?

This was useless.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Anyone know which Tales game Flick’s ‘butterfly’ strike arte is from? It’ll be revealed in a later chapter, I just kinda wanna see how many people know it already._


	86. Chapter 10.3 - Divergent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I missed a day. Shush.

_I had the feeling it would be disappearing to die a sad and lonely death somewhere once Natalia took it off again in the castle. –Dark_

* * *

**Dark’s POV**

We sat around in silence for another hour before I got sick of it, stood up, walked to the other side of the rather wide platform. It would have been nice if I had a monster or a practice dummy, but... oh well.

It didn’t take the girls long to split up and start doing basically the same thing. Since Natalia and Flick were the only two that didn’t have poisonous weapons, they ended up sparring, so to speak. I’m pretty sure they stopped at some point when Flick suddenly decided she wanted to poke around with a bow, now.

I knew from earlier conversations that she had yet to find a weapon she liked, so I really wasn’t too surprised by the seemingly-random ending to their sparring.

I stopped for a moment at one point to watch Selenia, and smiled at how easily she seemed to have adapted to using the axe. I knew it was rather different from her staff.

I also noted that her clothes were getting rather worn. The pretty white, black, purple, and gold she’d been wearing since the fall of St. Binah was faded. The edges of the purple wrap-around part of her skirt were looking frayed, and so were the ends of her sleeves. There was a bit of a tear in the back of her black halter top that I knew hadn’t been there before.

She was definitely going to need new clothes once we were out of here. And on that subject...

I glanced over at Natalia. I knew Flick’s clothes were pretty new, but Natalia had been wearing Noir’s gift since the Baticul incident.

It was still looking alright, so I didn’t worry about it too much, yet. That, and... Well, King Ingobert didn’t really care for it. I had the feeling it would be disappearing to die a sad and lonely death somewhere once Natalia took it off again in the castle.

It wasn’t much older than Flick’s clothes, really, but still...

“What, did you get so bored without us that you had to start fighting each other?”

All four of us turned toward the voice, and I grinned even as Sorylle knocked me down. “Hey, girl! You okay?”

“I was more worried about you! I knew you’d fallen farther than us, so did Natalia... But you’re both here, and you’re both okay, so I think I can stop driving Anise up a wall now.” I threw my head back and laughed at that.

“Yeah, let’s spare what’s left of her sanity, shall we?” I agreed, standing up once Sorylle padded over to check on Natalia. I sighed. “Well, I guess this means we’re just waiting on Asch and Jade now.”

“I smelled them at one point when we crossed under a path, but the scent was going the opposite direction we were. They may be a while yet,” Sorylle said. I sighed.

“Great... Alright, fine. Flick and I have been here for almost six hours now. Since we’ve been here longest and had the shortest walk, I’ll take guard duty,” I announced. I looked over at the girl I’d made it down here with. “Flick, you hit your head pretty bad when we fell, get some rest. Natalia, you’re not fooling me, you’re exhausted too,” I added when it looked like Natalia was about to volunteer. “Selenia can stay up with me. Anise, Selenia has some sandwiches she packed back in Keterburg. Eat one and get some sleep. You look like you’re about to fall over yourself.”

“I’m hungry too...”

“I’ve got some extra meat in my wing pack,” I told Sorylle. She growled happily and came over to start nosing my hip. Mieu, much to my amusement, was fast asleep on her head.

Once Sorylle and Anise had eaten, the two of them, Flick, and Natalia curled up and fell asleep. Since Sorylle was the least likely to roll over and off the platform, she’d taken the spot nearest the edge and then laid down on her side. Natalia curled up against her body, and Flick and Anise used her tail and front legs as pillows.

Selenia smiled from where the two of us sat on the other side of the platform. “They look cute.” She then glanced up at me. “So... What’s it like, being the only guy in a group of six?”

I shrugged. “One, despite his squeaky voice, Mieu is actually male, and two... Sorry. The only two I _really_ give a damn about are Natalia and Sorylle. Though I’ve certainly developed a rather healthy respect for Flick, after three hours of fighting alone with just her beside me, and then another six hours stuck down here.” I paused and chuckled. “She’s got a pretty damn high tolerance for my idiocy, too, given how close I came to nicking her a few times when I was still trying to figure out how to throw my chakrams.”

Selenia giggled. “Natalia, too. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing with Gray Larkspur at first, but she was pretty patient.”

I smiled. “I’m glad you two are getting along. I remember you didn’t like each other when you showed up in Sheridan.”

Selenia shrugged. “She was being a bit of a bitch about me tagging along. Once that got cleared up with Papa basically ordering you guys to let me come with you, she stopped... Of course, then she went and got kidnapped, so this is really the first time we’ve had a chance to talk.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve traveled with you much myself,” I admitted. She looked up at me.

“You know, you’re right. I went to help at Engeve, then didn’t go with you when you went to get Natalia, then at Daath, I went with Kairi while you got arrested, Kairi didn’t take me back to Daath when you got shot...” she trailed off and shrugged. “Guess fate’s just conspiring against us, huh?”

I groaned. “Don’t say things like that, or the next thing we know, we’ll be dealing with Van before Asch and Jade catch up. Or worse, we kill Van and then find out they’re dead.”

Selenia giggled. “Now who needs to stop talking?”

I smirked and nodded.

We spent another few hours there in silence before I walked over and gently shook Natalia and Anise awake. I took Natalia’s spot curled up against Sorylle and let myself fall into a blissful oblivion, trusting the girls to keep us protected.

Funny. A year ago, I never would have dared to do something like this.

When I woke up, it was to find red eyes looking at me.

“Glad to see you survived,” I muttered, letting Jade haul me to my feet.

“Asch and I found a relatively safe ledge a few hundred yards up and decided to get some sleep ourselves. We’d have been down here hours ago, otherwise. Sorry to keep you all waiting,” he said. I shook my head.

“Nah. Once Anise and Sorylle got down here, we started sleeping, too. That was... how long have you two been up, Natalia, Anise?” I asked.

“About four hours, I think,” Natalia said. “Strange, I don’t think there’s been anymore shaking since—“ She cut off mid-sentence as the platform shook again. “I appear to have spoken too soon...”

Once the shaking stopped, I looked over at Asch, who was standing next to the warp pad. “Were you two still up on the platform we fell from?” I asked. He nodded. “Huh... Anyway, Anise and Sorylle got down here about eight hours ago.”

“Anyone know how long we’ve been in here? Because without the sun, I’ve completely lost track of the time,” Anise said. I frowned.

“We slept about eight hours, fell about six hours before that, and were in here for about an hour before _that_. It was... what, mid-afternoon when we got here? Roughly three, I think...” I said, thinking out loud.

“So it’s about six in the morning,” Asch said. “Kairi and Luke should be reaching the Radiation Gate any time now, if they haven’t gotten there already.”

Jade adjusted his glasses. “We’ll know once we reach the passage ring.”

“We’ll have to get through Van first,” Selenia said.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about it much, between Gray Larkspur and White Lotus,” I said. “After all, we came here with every intention of killing him. No reason to waste more time or effort than necessary. We do still have to get out, after all.”

Jade sighed. “Spoken like a true assassin... and I can’t help but agree. Dark, Selenia... If one of you gets a shot, take it. We’re running out of time too quickly to be merciful at this point.”

I snorted. “Depending on just how fast-acting that poison is, it’ll be more merciful than a drawn-out battle.” I paused and looked around. “Well... is everyone ready?”

Selenia rested Gray Larkspur on her shoulder and nodded. Flick grinned in anticipation. Asch and Jade looked solemn, but also nodded. Natalia held her bow, Anise had Tokunaga in one hand and the Genius Wand Kairi had given her in the other, and Sorylle growled low in her throat, a challenge growl.

“Let’s go,” Asch said.

We all stepped over to the warp, and it activated, momentarily blinding me and everyone else, I’m sure.

When the light faded enough to see again, sound reached my ears. There sat Van, playing a complex but familiar melody on an organ... though how _that_ got down here, I didn’t want to know. As the melody came to a close with a jump from a note in one octave to the same note in the next, I finally realized where I recognized it from.

The Grand Fonic Hymn... Sync had sung those last few notes at Shurrey Hill, because Tear didn’t know that one.

Van stood and turned around. “Asch... Interesting. I was expecting Luke. Especially with Zion at the Radiation Gate. I’d have thought you would have gone with Kairi.”

Asch stiffened, and it was no wonder. If Zion was at the Radiation Gate...

“So we may not be running late after all...” Jade murmured. “Unfortunately for Zion, one person isn’t going to win against seven and a liger.”

Van looked amused. “He doesn’t need to win. He just needs to hold them off, just as I do. I’m sure you’ve noticed the earthquakes by now?” I shifted my stance slightly. “I’ve rigged a little something that not even Kairi caught. I only need a little more time.”

Asch drew his sword. “You’re not going to get it.”

Van chuckled and did the same. “We’ll see.”

Selenia only just spared Asch a glance before she started running. I tossed one of the chakrams and then started running in myself. Van dodged it easily and parried Selenia’s first strike, then had to jump to the side to avoid Jade’s Energy Blast. It didn’t hit me until he let off the third or fourth one why he was sticking to Energy Blast.

Van couldn’t keep dodging Energy Blasts, arrows (courtesy of Natalia), Poison Bursts (Flick), Ice Streams (Sorylle), and Demon Fists (Asch) without getting hit by either a White Lotus chakram or Selenia’s Gray Larkspur.

It seemed like Van realized this, and in an attempt to avoid a would-be-painful blow from Selenia, he let my most recent chakram throw nick him.

“Did it work?”

“No, damn it all...” Sorylle replied. I cursed in liger, caught the chakram, and tossed it again, this time with a bit more force behind it. It flew faster this time, and had a slight ring of light around it. It cut into Van’s arm easily, and he glared at me.

“Now it worked. Nice arte, by the way.”

This time, when I caught the chakram, I didn’t throw it again. Instead, I started casting. He might already be dying, but I wanted to get one last shot in before he did. Sorylle recognized it and backed off, and so did Selenia, realizing the second hit must have poisoned Van.

“ O vibrant comets... This one’s for the shit you put Asch, Sync, and Kairi through at the end of the year!” I shouted. “Stardust Rain!”

The wide range of my sixth-fonon arte meant that Van just wasn’t able to move outside of it before it struck.

Once it was over, he stumbled, forced to use his sword to stay upright. “What... Why...” His eyes widened and he looked up at me, a reluctant chuckle rising up from his throat. “Your chakrams are coated in poison... Heh... You might be the princess’s bodyguard, but you’re still... an assassin at heart...”

Natalia moved to argue, but I put up a hand, and she gave me a shocked look.

“Yeah. I am. I’m an assassin with a moral compass that only drives me to kill when I have to, whether it’s getting the gald I need to buy food to survive, or if it’s saving the world from someone whose moral compass is bent beyond repair.”

Van chuckled again as his legs gave out. “Damn... And here I thought... I’d planned... for everything.” He lost his grip on his sword and dropped to the ground. “Someone... Protect... Mystearica...”

His eyes slid shut, and I glanced over at Jade and Asch. “You go on ahead, see if you can figure out what he did.” I looked back down at Van, and Asch nodded. He, Jade, Selenia, and Anise headed down a nearby pathway, while I walked over to Van and held two fingers to his neck.

I found a weak, unsteady pulse and started counting.

A little under two minutes later, the pulse stuttered to a stop. I waited another minute before I removed my fingers.

“It usually takes human bodies a few days for their fonons to disperse completely,” I said monotonously. “We should at least take him back for a proper burial.”

Natalia nodded her agreement, while Flick frowned. “How? I don’t think it’ll be a great idea to be carrying a dead body back up,” she said. I shrugged, reached into my pocket, and drew out my wing pack. It didn’t take me long to find an over-large blanket that had been stained with blood so many times that there were a few stains that had never come out. I laid it out, rolled Van’s body onto it, wrapped the corpse up, and stored it—and Van’s sword—away in my wing pack.

“Ta-da.”

Flick raised an eyebrow. “You can do that?”

I shrugged. “With dead things, or plants that can survive through winter, yes.”

Natalia looked a bit disturbed. “You carry that blanket around for just that reason, don’t you?”

I nodded and started heading over to the walkway Jade and the others disappeared down earlier. “Yeah... Some of the weirdoes I took jobs from wanted me to bring the body back.”

With that lovely thought in mind, we silently descended.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _That blanket will be making another appearance before this story’s over._


	87. Chapter 10.4 - Divergent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another...

_I will give points to Zion for a dramatic entrance, at least. –Kairi_

* * *

I knew, the minute we landed at the Radiation Gate, something was wrong.

“Kairi?”

“Zion’s here,” I realized, my field brushing against his mind and withdrawing immediately. It hurt like a bitch whenever he cut me off.

“Oh, no...” Sync muttered. I nodded.

“Zion’s alone, but he’s expecting us. I’ve no doubt he’s already got his scythe ready,” I said.

“I’m suddenly really glad we switched Guy and Anise,” Seth muttered. “We’ll need his sword.”

I nodded. “Yeah... Let’s go.” I started walking off the Albiore, hand wrapped around my bow. I hadn’t used it regularly since before Danté shot me in Grand Chokmah, but it still felt as familiar as ever, especially after the arte and target practice in Keterburg.

“What about the group at the Absorption Gate?” Luke asked once we were off the airship.

“If Van suddenly feels like being useful again, they’ll be dead by now.”

I will give points to Zion for a dramatic entrance, at least.

“You heard the Albiore land,” I said. Zion scowled.

“I’d originally intended to deal with you closer to the passage ring. Then I remembered the little stunt you pulled at Tataroo Valley.”

I smirked. “Oh, that? Yeah, Van didn’t look too happy with me for that.”

“What do you want, Zion?” Luke asked, getting us back on topic. The former Fon Master shot him a glare, then turned back to me.

“The same thing I’ve always wanted. I was willing to try the replica, but she didn’t work. I’ve given those two a new job for now.”

I frowned. “You have yet to give me a good reason why I should help you.”

Zion snorted. “You don’t need to know. You’ll find out soon enough, anyway.” He lifted his scythe—I’d been right, the blade was already summoned—and let loose a Demon Wing.

I jumped back, staying in the air just long enough to avoid getting hit.

“I’m really starting to understand why Kairi always seems to be in a bad mood around you,” Ion said, drawing the Aska guns and leveling them on Zion amazingly quickly.

“Humph. I’m glad my little replacement is finally growing a spine, at least,” Zion grumbled in response. Ion’s expression flashed darkly.

“I prefer thinking of myself as your successor, not your replacement. I am _not_ you, and I don’t ever want to be.” Zion dodged an Infernal Prison I’d sent his way.

“I notice you’ve kept the name, though,” Zion taunted.

“You didn’t exactly keep it,” I shot back, charging up an Icicle Rain next.

“I stayed pretty close, didn’t I? Demon Wing!”

I cursed, cancelled the arte, and jumped. Once I landed, I let off a few arrows followed up by a Blast Edge.

Then I found myself in the air again, letting off a Star Stroke. Once I landed, I realized what I’d just done.

My usual combo from Tales of the Abyss. I almost always played as Natalia.

I couldn’t help it. I grinned. That was just too cool.

Then I had to start running, since Zion was on my ass.

“Maelstrom!”

Zion cursed loudly as Seth’s arte landed.

“Prism Gale!”

And then I had to stop and stare, even as I started casting again, because _damn_ that was a pretty arte.

“Damn you little brat!” Zion cursed as he stumbled out of the arte’s aftermath. I smirked, already half-finished casting.

“Definitely not your naïve little replacement,” I noted. “Cluster Raid!”

This one, Zion dodged, only to have to engage Guy and Luke. I smiled when I realized which swords they were using. Blue, red, and black clashed, and I started casting again. Seth’s Dragon’s Flower landed a bit too close to Guy and Luke for comfort, and they retreated a ways before my Infernal Prison landed.

“O fragments of brilliant light, converge! Prism—Oh no! No, no, look out!”

I watched as Ion quickly lost control of the arte. A good thing Luke and Guy had already been hightailing it out of there. Zion even looked concerned, and no wonder, since he was now trapped by the fonic glyph—the only part that had formed correctly.

Twilight, on the other hand, ran right into the middle of the mess, pulling in the field of fonons mine and Seth’s artes had left behind as he went and roaring at the top of his lungs. Ion gasped and reached out, as if to grab the arte he’d likely put _way_ too much power behind. Then something flashed in his eyes, and he crossed his arms again in a casting stance.

“O flurry of dancing flames...” Ion chanted.

Twilight growled what I guessed was the next part of the verse. I didn’t catch it, since I wasn’t listening telepathically.

An impressive display of light and fire erupted on top of Zion, and I almost felt sorry for the teen who’d been trapped by the malforming arte.

“Sunset Faith!” Ion cried as Twilight roared again.

Once it was over, Twilight growled something at Ion that didn’t sound polite in the least.

I rolled my eyes. “Berate him later!” I ordered, aiming another arrow at Zion. He scowled, then frowned, looking past me. I glanced back, spotting Sync sitting on the ramp of the Albiore III with Ginji in front of him. Odd... had he been sitting there this whole time?

Zion moved to attack him, only to find Luke in the way.

Luke and Zion fought for a bit before Sync called out.

“Enough!”

Zion jumped back and glared at him.

“Van is dead,” Sync started. “But he managed to set up the Absorption Gate to remote override all the other passage rings. Once it hits us, the Outer Lands will fall and we’ll _all_ be dead. The Zao Ruins is the only other sephiroth that hasn’t been overwritten yet.”

Zion’s eyes went wide. “He used the master override...”

I glanced back, just in time to see Sync nod.

Zion turned around and raced down into the Radiation Gate. “Come on, Kairi! Tear doesn’t know the seventh hymn, and the others will _never_ disable it without the override! Not in time, at least!”

I realized what he needed immediately.

The Grand Fonic Hymn.

I ran after Zion, with Luke, Tear, Seth, and Sync right behind me. Seth and Twilight were lagging a bit. Then again, they didn’t have a clue what was going on.

Even I wasn’t quite sure, but I knew it wasn’t good.

Damn... I hadn’t realized the Grand Fonic Hymn could override my seals...

Then I remembered the other thing.

“Van’s dead? Really dead?” Hey, I had a reason to be skeptical.

“He’s apparently wrapped in a blanket in Dark’s wing pack,” Sync replied. “I honestly didn’t know you could do that...”

“Only with dead bodies,” Zion called back, slashing through another monster as he ran. I couldn’t help but be a bit amused. First I’d had one of these guys (Sync). Then I’d had two (Sync and Ion). Now I had three... for the time being. I knew Zion too well now. Once the danger was past, he’d go right back to being an enemy.

We reached the passage ring, and Zion didn’t even hesitate to slap his hand down on the terminal. “Kairi!”

I nodded, stood next to him, and started singing.

_“Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryou Toue Zue~ Kuroa Ryou Zue Toue Ryou Neu Rei Va Zue~ Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa~ Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei~ Va Neu Va Rei Va Neu Va Zue Rei~ Kuroa Ryou Kuroa Neu Toue Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va~ Rei Va Neu Kuroa Toue Rei Rei~_

It was obvious, the moment I sang the last note, that the Grand Fonic Hymn truly was a master key. The entire passage ring lit up, and Zion got to work. I glanced up at it myself and frowned at the roundabout method he was using.

“Can’t you just input an interference code into a stop gap?”

Zion gave me the most confused look. “How?”

I pointed. “Up there, in layer four, there’s a gap in the coding. If you input the code SS42B, it’ll stop the shutdown.”

Zion did so, and watched, apparently amazed, as the self-destruct sequence Van had planted stopped instantly. He stared at it for a moment before sighing. “Obviously I’m out of my league here...”

Sync chuckled. “It’s Kairi. Anything Dawn Age is child’s play for her.”

Zion sighed again. “Alright... Well, I’m already down here. What are you going to do now?”

I reached out on the second plane and started manipulating things. “We’ve got to lower the Outer Lands, _now_. All the passage rings are under a lot of stress thanks to Van’s little stunt. They could fail and send everyone plummeting into the Qliphoth at any time.”

Zion nodded. “I thought I’d have some time to work since you’d sealed off the other six sephiroth, but apparently Van had other ideas.”

I frowned and glanced at Zion. “Don’t cut me off. This’ll go faster if I’ve got help from the other side.” I then opened a channel into his mind, and worked through the passage rings to find Asch, Jade, and the others. Once all of us were connected...

*And Zion is in this because...?*

Heh, count on Asch to notice that. *He’s the one holding the terminal open,* I answered easily, still poking around with things.

*Van went behind my back. I need Auldrant in relatively one piece if my plans are going to work out right,* Zion added. *Also, if he’d succeeded, I’d have fallen to my death as well.*

*Self-preservation is powerful motivator...* Jade mumbled.

*Kairi, we’ve got a bit of a problem. The self-destruct sequence ended, but now we’re locked out of the system on this end,* Asch said. Zion glanced at me.

*Okay. I knew about the master key, but since I apparently have no clue what I’m doing compared to you...*

I snorted. *I’m seeing that... Okay, we need to open up an intermediary so we can have two terminals fully active at the same time. And given the lovely mess Van made with the shutdown sequence, we’ll have to install a bypass generator.*

*In a language the rest of us can understand, please,* Asch grumbled.

I sighed. *I can do it myself. Just don’t let the terminal deactivate, Zion.*

*Kairi...*

*As long as I’m not physically touching it, it won’t hurt me any more than it already has,* I said quickly before an actual argument could start. *Now then...*

It took me a few moments to open up permissions for Asch and Jade up at the Absorption Gate and then we got to work fixing the mess Van had made. Once that was done...

*Asch, Luke... It’s up to you, now.*

The two redheads sent back confirmation, and I watched as Luke stepped up on Zion’s other side, arms raised above his head toward the diagram above us. The familiar golden-orange glow of his and Asch’s hyperresonance surrounded him, and I smiled.

Between Asch and Luke, lowering the Outer Lands was a mostly simple affair.

As soon as it was done, I broke the telepathic connection with everyone, and Zion removed his hand from the terminal before turning to face the rest of us.

“I really hope you don’t want a fight right now...” Seth said. Zion shot him a glare, then walked past him—and the rest of us—silently.

“Well, I think that answers that question,” I said. Luke looked up at me from where he’d ended up kneeling on the ground, and I caught sight of something pink. “Is that...?”

He forced himself into a standing position and held his arm out.

Sure enough, there, sitting innocently in the palm of his hand, was the Jewel of Lorelei.

“Lorelei asked me and Asch to free him from the core, but he also said something about the miasma, and an agent of the miasma. I didn’t understand much of it, but I think Asch memorized it, so you should ask him when we meet up with them again,” he said. “In the meantime... I’m not sure I’m the best person to hold onto this.”

I snorted. “Don’t give it to me. I’m the one that’s always getting kidnapped or in some other form of trouble, remember?”

Luke nodded, then turned to Ion. “Ion... Would you guard this for me? I don’t think Asch and I are going to be able to do much about Lorelei’s request right away.”

Ion looked surprised, but he nodded anyway. “Of course, Luke.”

Once the Jewel was safely squared away, Luke turned to me. “Now what? Asch wants to know if you want to meet up in Keterburg again.”

Guessing that Luke and Asch were communicating via fonslots, I crossed my arms. “Actually, I vaguely remember a certain blue-haired someone giving us a hint right after reciting Clan Precepts at us... Well, Asch and your father, at least. Anyway, Tataroo Valley’s a bit closer to a proper halfway point... assuming their trip back up through the Absorption Gate doesn’t take as long as it took going down.”

“Apparently they all got separated partway down when half a platform collapsed,” Luke said after a moment. “But Asch agrees. We really need that information on the Clans. I think we’ve been putting it off long enough.”

“Who ended up with whom, to satisfy my curiosity?”

“Dark and Flick fell the farthest, then Natalia and Selenia, then Anise and Sorylle, and Jade and Asch were still up on the platform. Also, Dark said he, Selenia, and Flick have a strike arte in need of a new name. Apparently the name Flick gave it isn’t quite accurate,” Luke said, making a face. I giggled.

“Right. Okay. Let’s head on up. Hopefully Zion’s gone by now and not harassing Ginji.”

The others nodded, and we turned and headed up to the Albiore again. Sync and I kinda fell back a bit, and he looked up at me. “Did the split-up thing happen in the game?” he asked softly. I nodded.

“Yeah. Luke and Tear, Anise and Jade, and Guy and Natalia. I always hated trying to play that part of the game... I use Luke and Tear for pre-return-to-Baticul, and Natalia was my usual, but dammit, Anise drives me up a wall and Jade’s no good as a melee fighter... even in real life.”

Those last four words had Sync chuckling. “So what happened to Ion?” he asked once he’d suppressed his laughter.

“Got left behind in Keterburg with Nephry. They didn’t know they’d need Asch and Luke at both Gates, either. Good thing Asch thought ahead and got to the Albiore III, or they’d have never succeeded.”

“Did Van do something there, too?”

“Yeah. Rigged the passage rings to redirect the Planet Storm to flow in reverse.”

“Which would drop the Outer Lands...”

“Yup.”

“Hurry up, you two!” Luke called. Sync and I laughed.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Zion, while immensely unhelpful most of the time, wrote most of this chapter himself... He also wrote most of the next Keterburg sequence. When you read that mini-arc, you’ll understand why this is so exasperating._


	88. Chapter 10.5 - Divergent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another... Look! It's working!

_“Not my fault you’re all unobservant._ Anise _found him.” –Kairi_

_“You wanted one, didn’t you?” –Reighn_

_“Then you_ really _don’t want to hear some of what comes out of my head.” –Kairi_

* * *

We made camp in Tataroo Valley that night, and I must admit, that was the best night’s sleep I’d gotten in a while. I supposed it helped that Van was actually dead this time. We had a body, we could prove it, and that meant there was no worrying about him coming back from the Core with Lorelei trapped inside his body.

When I woke up the next morning, it was to find a blue-haired man standing over me. I smiled.

“Long time, no see.”

Reighn gave me an apologetic look as he helped me to my feet. We walked off a ways so as not to disturb the others. It was still quite early, after all. “Sorry. I finally got things straightened out with Aerith. I’m officially the Head of Aurelius... So I came out here for a few reasons. First, to see if you guys had gotten around to looking in the archives yet, and also... Well, I hadn’t realized that the entire Aurelius library of forbidden fonic artes had been copied and then placed here. Actually, if what I’ve found out in the past few days is correct, then there are two more stashes on Auldrant. One’s under Rugnica, and I think Dark mentioned it before, so I’m going to pick his brain, and the other—“

“Hey, why don’t you save most of this conversation for when the others wake up, huh?”

Reighn paused, then gave me a rather sheepish smile. “Sorry. I guess I was rambling a bit.” I nodded with a knowing smile. “So, am I to assume you guys are the ones responsible for the clouds suddenly seeming to rise a few miles?”

I laughed. “Yeah. We lowered the Outer Lands into the Qliphoth, using the dividing line to push the miasma back down into the core. It’ll hold... for now.”

“For now?”

I paused, glanced at Reighn, and decided I’d waited long enough. “I’ve lied to you long enough. I should have told you sooner, but... well, we got a bit distracted.”

Reighn looked curious now, and I sat down, gesturing for him to do the same.

Two hours later, the sun rose over Tataroo Valley to reveal four things.

Me, doing what I often do when I’ve got nothing better to do in the morning (practicing with my sword, though I was a bit unused to using Silver Clematis for that).

The Albiore II dropping down toward the largest part of the clearing, where the Albiore III already sat.

Luke and Seth working on making breakfast (they quickly dragged Guy and Sync over to help when they spotted the incoming airship).

And a still shell-shocked Reighn.

Jade and Asch were the first two off of the Albiore II, and Asch immediately made a beeline to me, though I noted that he actually stopped just on the edge of my perception and made no move to interrupt me. Odd. He usually doesn’t hesitate to make some snide comment on my footwork... or the fact that my eyes are closed.

Jade headed over to the fire to help out with making breakfast. Dark and Natalia were the next ones off the ship, with Natalia walking toward the fire and Dark heading for me. Flick and Selenia followed him, while Sorylle padded after Natalia. Anise stepped off, did a lot of looking around, and finally decided that she was just going to hover around for a while... At least until she spotted Reighn and went over to bother him. Noelle came out and ran over to Ginji, sitting down next to him and chattering excitedly.

I noted all of this with my ears and what I could identify of where people were using the light telepathic field I’d laid down. My telepathy was strengthening again. Soon, I’d be back to where I was before Mirage had been created.

One last flourish, and then I let Silver Clematis return to its splintered form on my arm as I turned to look at my audience. More specifically, the three who weren’t Asch. “You said you had an arte you needed named?”

The three nodded, though with varying levels of enthusiasm. Dark’s was a short jerk of the head, Selenia bounced her head a couple of times, and Flick nodded enough to get the bells on the ends of the chopsticks in her hair jangling for a couple minutes. Asch was apparently as amused by this as I was.

“Okay. Lemme see.”

The minute Flick launched the red and black wings of light, I knew exactly what I was looking at, and I froze up for a moment before glancing at Dark. “Yours is indigo, isn’t it?” I asked Dark. He nodded, more slowly this time, obviously surprised. I turned to Selenia. “And yours are the same dark blue as your Angel Feathers wings.”

She looked a bit confused. “How did you...?”

I looked over at Flick again. “What did you call it?”

She looked sheepish. “Black Wings... Even though they’ve always been more red than black, it just seemed like it fit at the time.”

I sighed. “You got it damn close. The arte’s called DelQues. It _can_ be translated as ‘Black Wings’, but the meaning in this case is actually ‘Wings of Destruction.’ Never thought I’d see it _here_ though...” This last part was muttered, but I think all four of them heard it anyway.

Dark and Asch gave me curious looks, while Selenia looked suspicious, and Flick just looked totally baffled.

Dark nudged my field. *Are you talking about an arte on another world? Or... I guess, from another game?*

*Yeah... Another Tales game, at that... Tales of Legendia... Then again, the entirety of Selenia’s base arte set is from Tales of Symphonia, with Angel Feathers being an arte basically unique to that game, so I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised. You’ve also already pulled out Sacrifice, which I’ve only ever seen in Tales of Symphonia so far,* I replied.

“DelQues, huh? I like it. It’s got a nice ring to it...” Flick said. “DelQues...”

I gave her a curious look. “Have you made a field of fonons transformation for it yet? Because I’m pretty sure there’s also ZelDelQues, Wings of Slaughter.”

Flick grinned. “Whoo! Project!” She then ran off, apparently to find some monsters to kill in an attempt at creating the second level of it. I rolled my eyes.

“Kids...”

“Well, she is only a year old, roughly. Give her a little slack.”

I froze. “What?”

Dark nodded. “Sixteen months.”

“Damn. She’d have been born just a couple months before I met Kairi...” Asch said.

“Hey! If you’re done standing around chatting, breakfast’s ready! And why didn’t you tell us Reighn was here?!” Natalia yelled. Sync, Ion, Luke, Seth, and Guy gave me the exact same look Natalia and Jade were giving me, and I grinned.

“What? He beat us here, was standing nearby when I woke up, so since it was early and we had nothing else to do I decided to tell him something and I kinda short-circuited his brain, so I was gonna leave him be until he got that fixed up. Not my fault you’re all unobservant. _Anise_ found him.”

“And that means what, exactly?” Anise asked. I shrugged, not wanting to grace that question with an answer. Far too loaded a question for safety.

Asch chuckled, amused by my silent response. The four of us walked over to the fire.

“So where did Flick race off to?” Seth asked.

“Apparently she’s off to work on an arte,” I said, sitting down and accepting a plate of food with a thank you before digging in. I frowned as I worked on eating. “Hey, do you think you could teach me?” I asked. Dark shrugged.

“Why not? I’m actually a bit curious now to see what _yours_ will look like.”

Everyone gave us baffled looks, and I smiled. “Oh, they just found out something interesting about an arte of Flick’s... The same one she just ran off to experiment with.”

Natalia blinked a few times. “Are you talking about the color and shape differences?”

I nodded. “I kinda wanna see what mine looks like now.”

Jade and Asch looked interested, and I guessed it was because they’d been with Dark, Flick, and Selenia at the Absorption Gate but didn’t know what we were talking about.

Reighn nodded. “That, and...” He reached into the bag on the ground next to him and started rooting around in it, leaving his breakfast half-eaten in his lap. Then he pulled out not one, but _five_ scrolls. He unrolled one, then rolled it back up and shoved it back in the bag before rooting around again and pulling out an identical one. This time, when he rolled it back up after checking it, he was smiling.

“That’s for you,” he said, holding it out toward Jade, who accepted it warily. He grabbed the next one, checked this, and handed it off to Seth. “For you...” Seth was just as wary as Jade, who hadn’t quite dared to open the scroll yet.

The next person he held a scroll out for was me, and, being as curious as ever, I took it and immediately unrolled it. I’d finished eating, anyway...

I didn’t notice right off which two he handed the other two scrolls off to. I was too busy staring at what he’d given me.

“You wanted one, didn’t you?” Reighn asked, sounding amused.

“Yeah, but... I didn’t expect you to just hand it to me at random like this... Isn’t this the one you used in Daath?”

Reighn nodded. “That scroll’s got a second one on it, too...”

I unrolled it a bit further, and found that Reighn was correct. The second one made me smirk. “Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice...” And dammit, Mom watched the Twilight movies too much if I’d memorized that poem from hearing it read aloud in Breaking Dawn Pt. 1.

Reighn chuckled as Asch leaned away from me. I rolled my eyes at him and started reading the information on Final Embrace.

Apparently my reciting of the first two lines of a Robert Frost poem had piqued Jade’s curiosity, and he looked at his own scroll.

Had I been paying attention, I’d have _seen_ the incredulous look on his face instead of hearing about it later.

Reighn’s laughter was what brought me up out of my reading again, and I glanced around. Jade, and Seth, and me... Selenia had been given a scroll, too, and Dark had one. Dark looked a bit exasperated, while the other three looked like kids let loose in a candy shop.

Yes, even Jade.

“So, is this acceptable for a ‘sorry for ditching you guys like that’ token?” Reighn asked, the smirk on his face telling me he cared little either way.

Judging from the chuckles around the campfire, the others agreed.

Dark then looked up as Flick walked back over, looking a bit sheepish. “Ah... If I’d realized you guys were about to eat, I’da waited until later to take off...”

Luke chuckled and held out a plate. “We saved you some anyway.”

She grinned. “Thanks!”

“So, what was that thing you were muttering about fire and ice?” Ion asked. I grimaced.

“Something I heard around my mom way too many times, if I can _still_ recite it from memory.”

Jade chuckled. “I get the feeling it’s longer.”

I nodded. “Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire, I side with those who favor fire. But if the world should perish twice, I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction, ice, is also great, and would suffice.”

“That’s dark...” Anise murmured. I smirked.

“Then you _really_ don’t want to hear some of what comes out of my head.”

“I’ve still got a certain someone’s poem from back on the Tartarus hanging in a frame in my room at Curtiss Manor,” Jade said. I rolled my eyes.

“Of course _that’s_ pretty dark. They were trying to start a war.”

“I’m still grateful you showed up... though given your track record with uniforms, I think it may be best if you start avoiding those,” Jade said.

Reighn snorted. “Uh, yeah... Did you tell him about the conversation we had last time we were here?” he asked, giving me a look. I shook my head.

“Nah. Been a bit distracted. Though Cantabile says she’s gonna borrow my frying pan to remind you exactly why it’s a bad idea. I’m not sure how she’s gonna get ahold of it, though, short of cutting my arm off.”

Reighn looked caught between concern and amusement. “Right... Thanks for the warning, at least.”

Asch and Sync were giving us wary looks. “Ahem... What part of this conversation have we obviously missed?” Asch asked. Dark smirked.

“Kairi’s going back to Daath with you guys.”

“No,” Asch said immediately.

“Yup!” I said cheerfully.

Sync gave me a _look_. “You have a track record that says you really shouldn’t.”

“Hey, I got in and out last time without any problems! And most of it was Van’s fault anyway,” I argued. Then I spotted the shit-eating grin on Dark’s face and threw a nearby rock. I was careful to throw wide, but he ducked anyway. “You’re gonna have your hands full too, _Colonel_.”

Reighn raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I must have missed this. When did that happen?”

“When Mohs got permanently kicked out of Baticul,” Sync said. “So, wait, who’s going where after this?”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s you, me, Asch, Luke, Reighn, Ion, and Anise bound for Daath for sure...” I glanced around.

“I’m going back to Malkuth. I think I’ve stayed hidden in Kimlasca for long enough,” Guy said. Jade nodded.

“Yes, and I need to go back to Grand Chokmah as well. With the Outer Lands lowered now, the citizens of St. Binah should be back in the city rebuilding soon, so I’ll assume Selenia is coming with us,” he said. Selenia nodded.

“Natalia and I need to go back to Baticul... Luke, Asch, are you sure you both want to go to Daath?” Dark asked. Luke nodded.

“Yeah. I already talked to Father about it, too.”

“What about you, Tear?” Anise asked.

“I’ll go to Daath with you. I need to return to Yulia City—the Yulia Road’s the fastest route that won’t involve one of the pilots going out of their way,” she said.

Flick and Seth exchanged looks. “We’ll go on foot from here,” she said. “We’ve been talking about what we want to do once this was over and until we figure it out, we’re just gonna wander...” Seth nodded.

“What about Florian?” Ion asked suddenly. Dark chuckled.

“We’ll send him to Daath with whoever drops us off,” he said.

Jade sighed. “Now that that’s done...” He turned to Reighn. “You brought us here for a reason.”

* * *

 ** _Fun Fact:_** _I had the scene with Kairi and her Robert Frost moment planned out for weeks. Then I go to write it. Guess what Mom’s watching just loud enough that I can hear it? Breaking Dawn Pt. 1. So I can_ hear _that poem being read aloud as I type the beginning of that scene. –facepalms- That was just... Urk._


End file.
